


Far From Home: The Monster’s Heir

by HeRell_77



Series: Far From Home [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Bad Parenting, Bigotry & Prejudice, Childhood Trauma, Cock Piercing, Complete, Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Dark Fantasy, Double Anal Penetration, Empath, Empathy, Gay Sex, Genital Piercing, Healing Sex, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Suicide, LGBTQ Character of Color, Language Barrier, M/M, Multi, Music, Nipple Piercings, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Past Torture, Piercings, Polyamory, Power of Words, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-02-16 15:44:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 36
Words: 63,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18694477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeRell_77/pseuds/HeRell_77
Summary: *** COMPLETE— Far From Home book two: Sequel to The Warlord's Chosen. A M/M/M fantasy romance***"For the innocence of my mother, I suffered alone in the dark. For the sins of my father, I give my blood."Llyric has lived his life beneath stone, among darkness and cold. Having seen the sun for the last time when his father last attempted to steal his innocence when he was a young child, Llyric spends his days with a mouth bound, a body beaten and torn, and a soul and heart darkened by his own blood. He knows he deserves what he suffers, for the blood is his veins is evil. He knows this. He accepts it.Until the day he is saved, and possibly given a chance at living beyond his blood.





	1. PROLOGUE: Prized Possession

**Author's Note:**

> ***** In The Monster's Heir, both Akari and El'kahrian are spoken frequently. Neither Llyric nor Sage speak Akari (fluently, although Sage knows some), but they're in Akar for most of the book. To keep things simple, and so I don't have to always point out when they switch languages, anytime anyone is speaking in Akari, it will be italicized. Llyric and Sage will learn Akari eventually, of course, but they're not as quick learners as Amer was ;)
> 
> This is the second of the Far From Home series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. There will, of course, be spoilers for the first book, but otherwise you should be able to read this one without having read the other. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: While I of course never go into detail, there will be mentions of child rape and the aftermath thereof. Also, torture, attempted incestuous rape, attempted suicide, memories of a successful suicide, suicidal thoughts, and basically just a really evil father being an evil asshole. Proceed with caution please if any of those things may be triggering for you. 
> 
> **This is my first try at a M/M/M romance, so go easy on me :)***
> 
> ((P.S. I had meant to start uploading this tomorrow, but.... I just couldn’t wait lol. Enjoy ;)))

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> <3 welcome back if you’re here from the Warlord’s Chosen! Or welcome if not! Enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** In The Monster's Heir, both Akari and El'kahrian are spoken frequently. Neither Llyric nor Sage speak Akari (fluently, although Sage knows some), but they're in Akar for most of the book. To keep things simple, and so I don't have to always point out when they switch languages, anytime anyone is speaking in Akari, it will be italicized. Llyric and Sage will learn Akari eventually, of course, but they're not as quick learners as Amer was ;)
> 
> This is the second of the Far From Home series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. There will, of course, be spoilers for the first book, but otherwise you should be able to read this one without having read the other.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: While I of course never go into detail, there will be mentions of child rape and the aftermath thereof. Also, torture, attempted incestuous rape, attempted suicide, memories of a successful suicide, suicidal thoughts, and basically just a really evil father being an evil asshole. Proceed with caution please if any of those things may be triggering for you.
> 
> **This is my first try at a M/M/M romance, so go easy on me :)***
> 
> ((P.S. I had meant to start uploading this tomorrow, but.... I just couldn’t wait lol. Enjoy ;)))

LLYRIC—

I hadn’t seen Father in at least 9 feedings. I couldn’t be sure, because Nanny was very old, and I knew sometimes she forgot. Sometimes it was Father who told her to forget, but there were times it was her own mind working against her. But it had been at least 9 since Father had come down into my prison and taught me of his displeasure. 

And it worried me. 

Not because I was worried for Father, to say the least. The man could die a thousand fiery deaths, and I wouldn’t piss on him to put the fire out, the gods save my soul for the evil thoughts. But because if it was only Nanny who was left to care for me… I knew I wouldn’t last much longer. And it wouldn’t be the quick death of Father losing control and beating my body until I no longer breathed. It would be the slow, painful death of starvation. 

Dear gods, was it very wrong that sometimes, in my very weakest moments, I prayed that she _would_ forget about me completely? Because painful or not, I had prayed for death for more years than I could count, and those prayers had only grown louder in the silence of my prison as the years had gone by. 

With each new piercing Father saw fit to adorn my body with. With each lash of the whip, purposely leaving thick, ropy scars against my pale, sickly skin. With each day gone by, starving but kept alive, just barely. With each of these, my prayers grew louder. 

In my mind, of course. For my mouth had been bound with wires and leather since I was a child, too young to remember much, and I had spoken not a coherent sound but wordless screams since that day. That fateful day Father had finally decided to take me to his bed, to force my body—

I cut the thoughts off. I had gotten off easy, for some reason. I knew that. I had known the other children. And after that day, and the one other, Father never touched me again. Even his men were only allowed to touch me with whips, knives, brands. Never with their bare hands. 

I was Father’s property, so they were allowed to do only what he had given them permission to do. 

And those who broke his strict rules were dealt with accordingly. 

Each time those rules had been broken haunted me. Not for what they had done to me, but for what Father had meted out to them in retribution. 

Like Cayl, who had dared give me extra broth, warm and not moldy, cold and stale from days among the rats and bugs of the dungeon’s darkness. He had met his end so horribly, right in front of my eyes, that I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing his pleading eyes, darkening with pain and death, staring up at me as he grunted through his death throes. 

And Shepherd, a man who revered the gods, who gave in to temptation and tried to take what Father said was only his to take, though he never did. Never was able to. He was interrupted before he was able to breach my body, but Father left him to die slowly and painfully, his screams reaching even my ears, down here in the deep, as he was ripped apart and eaten by Father’s starving hounds. 

I was Father’s greatest, most precious possession. 

One he was unable to touch or even harm himself. 

I knew not why Father was unable to touch me. He could barely get within five feet of me without breaking out into a heavy sweat and crying out in pain. And it had been that way since he first tried to bed me, as he did the other children he kept. But my brain wouldn’t allow me to remember why. 

Why only I was kept pure, untouched by Father’s lusts. 

His sexual lusts, at least. For, as I said, my body showed a tapestry of pain I had endured throughout my life from his lusts for pain and blood. And a few I had earned through disobedience. 

Like the time, a few years before, I had managed to sharpen a small bit of stone that I pried from the wall of my dungeon, and slit my arm from elbow to wrist. By the will of some malevolent god, I had been found before my body could empty of blood, and the best healers had been called to return to me life and set me back in my own personal hell. Father had been… displeased. I had spent days suffering through that apology. 

I had dared, almost as Shepherd had, to take what was Father’s. And I paid for that with new scars, and new decibels my voice could reach in my screams. I had learned the definition of agony by Father’s hand— although it seemed to pain him almost as much as me. 

Then there was the time, only a year or so later, I had tried to hide my meals in my waste bucket, so I could enter the gods realms by that path. 

I had been found out then too. And the punishments had been oh, so much worse. 

So now, I only hung on the wall where I had been left, spread eagle, my body bare to the cold air that drifted from the stones, and prayed that Nanny would continue to forget my feedings. Then I could finally end this painful existence I had never asked for, and had never wanted. 

But of course, the gods never had been on my side. The evil in my blood— for I was not stupid, despite having never left my dungeon since I was too young to remember, I knew the blood that flowed through my veins was that of a monster of the worst kind— drew their displeasure. It seemed nothing I could do in this life would keep the curse of my blood from destroying everything around me. 

The shouts were the first thing that drew my attention from the dumb stupor I had fallen into. To pass the time, I often fell into a sort of sleep state. And I remembered. I remembered the only good thing, the only pure thing I’d ever had in my life.

Nanny would sometimes tell me it was impossible for me to remember my Mama, but I knew I did. Whether it was by the grace of some benevolent god who took pity on my pathetic existence, or something malevolent that wanted me to have something to crave, to miss, I knew not. But I remembered her. 

She was but a child herself— her breasts so small I could barely get enough milk from one. She had to frequently switch from one breast to another to fully sate me. And even then, I would cry from the hunger pains in my belly. 

I could remember her light, round face, her deep blue eyes, pure and gentle, and her pouting lips turned up in a sad smile. 

She would sing to me, songs in a language I remembered and would hear from the guards a few times. Each time they spoke in that language, I would cry to be able to beg them to speak to me, to sing to me as she had. But the wires and leather keeping my mouth shut wouldn’t allow me. 

These memories were what I fell into when the pain and despair became too much to bear. But with those happy memories, came the cold blood drying around my body, Mama’s gasps for breath as she begged me to understand her pain, to forgive her for abandoning me, and her tears falling on my face as she kissed my cheeks as the life left her body. 

But even those memories were quickly falling away to the chaos breaking out on the floors above my dungeon. The shouts, sounds of metal against metal, and boots against the stone pounded above me. I held still as I could, breathing shallowly, as the sounds crescendoed, and then… all was silent again. 

And I waited. 

And waited. 

And prayed I truly had been forgotten and could finally join my Mama and tell her how I forgave her, and I understood why she had done what she had done. And we could maybe live and love each other among the gods.


	2. the Defiler, the Monster

EMBER—

I voted against the Prince of El'kahr being accepted as Warprize for the end of the war against El'kahr. For generations, time unnumbered, my people have been nothing but animals, slaves, or worse, to the people who share our borders. And even beyond those at our borders. Most especially the El'kahrians. The land of riches, hidden sensual pleasures, and greed. 

My tribe shared a border with the greedy El'kahrians, so my hatred for them had festered and grown throughout my 32 years of life. And in the last two years of war and bloodshed, beginning with the outer farms of my tribe being razed, pillaged and raped by mercenaries, that hatred had burned into an inferno that required an outlet. 

One the former Warlord, future Tribal Chief of the Moonstone Tribe, was offering me on a silver platter.

Two years ago, I had been beyond frustrated that I was unable to fight alongside the Warlord. Or to be the Warlord. As the son of a Chief, I could have been chosen as Warlord. Unfortunately, I had taken my father's place only months before the war started, and so had to choose a Warlord to fight in my stead, as the other Tribal Chiefs did. The Tribal Chiefs of Akar didn't fight directly— we voted on a Warlord, and he or she was our avatar in the war. 

But damn Geir chose to let the El'kahrians surrender, and took the king's son as Warprize. A position of honor, and he gave it to the spineless child of the man who had taken the lives of so many of my tribe. 

My people— my tribe— had suffered the brunt of the king's trespasses into our lands. And yet he had suffered nothing. Had paid nothing. 

Not until later, and not at the hands of Akarans to appease our dead. 

Unfortunately, my place was not to question the Warlord or his decisions. I had voted for him alongside all the other Chiefs, and I had to stand by his decision, no matter how much I wished we could have finally ended the El'kahrian's arrogance and conceit by decimating them. If we had taken their King and their Prince, made an example of them, it would have taken them years, possibly even decades, to recover. If they ever did. 

And we could have lived in peace, with no fear of their retribution for taking their Prince into Geir's tribe. I understood the El'kahrians better than Geir ever could, and I knew they wouldn't see the prince being taken as Warprize as a peaceful end to the war like we did. As a joining of two countries in a hopefully lasting peace by joining a family as one— a Chief and one of their royals. No, they would see it as his being kidnapped and taken hostage by their enemies for their compliance. 

Which would then fester into resentment and rebellion. 

Now I was happy to help in what Geir had asked of me. The Warprize's elder sister, Hestiel, had ended her own father's life and taken his throne. This was information I should not have known— the royal family of El'kahr was keeping the information close to their chests— but I was used to the machinations and politics of El'kahr, and had the information before even Geir did. 

As the new Queen of El'kahr, Hestiel was cleaning house, as it were. She had already banished half a dozen of her own nobles, confiscating their lands and distributing them among lesser nobles and even some servants in her own castle. One of those being deposed was Butcger, a man I had heard tales of for years. 

He was called Defiler of Children. Or simply the Monster. 

There had been nothing I could do, despite the stories that trickled in past our shared borders, for fear of sparking a war with El'kahr. 

But now he was being arrested, had set up a last stand in his keep only a day's ride from my own home, and was being set upon by a contingent of Queen Hestiel's men. 

Geir had asked me to gather men of my own to aid them in taking the Monster to the queen, or simply ensuring he never harmed another child. 

I would gleefully cut his manhood from his body and feed it to the carrion as he watched in horror without any qualms. 

He deserved far worse. 

It took me and my contingent of 50 men only a half a day to reach the keep. We rode with all haste, our horses pushed past their limits. I brought my very best men— warriors who had only just returned a few months ago from the war. Some who had served beside Geir, as his captains and sergeants. And they were eager to return, to complete at least a bit of what should have been finished months ago. 

This was the reason, I supposed, why Geir had asked me to go and aid the El'kahrians. Because it gave me a sense of justice, of right, to help in ridding this earth of some of the evil Geir had allowed to flourish by leaving the king and his princeling alive and well.

And I would relish the chance to rid this world of the evil that surely burned through the very blood in the man's veins. 

SAGE—

For two days, we had negotiated with the men who kept Butcger's castle fortified for their master. For two days, I tried to reason with them, to call on the authority Queen Hestiel had bestowed upon me to bring the man to justice. 

For two days I had failed spectacularly. If there was one thing to be said for the Defiler, his men were loyal. 

Whether that was out of fear or shared guilt, I knew not. 

But after two days, I knew a battle would be necessary, despite my efforts to take the Defiler to the queen without bloodshed. After more than a year on the frontlines of a war I never wanted to fight, demoted and dishonored due to said reluctance, I wanted only to return to my farm and live the remainder of my days in peace among the earth and the yearly growth of my crops. 

I had never wanted to fight in any war, much less against our peaceful neighbors to the south. Despite the king's propaganda against them, I knew they had done nothing to us that we didn't deserve. They had only fought to defend what we would steal from them. 

And their ferocity and brutal ruthlessness won them the peace and freedom that never should have been taken from them. 

In return, we had paid with many lives, and the life of our own prince. A man I knew had been doing more good than was required for someone who had never harmed another in his life. 

I had met the young Prince Amer only twice, the first while visiting my brother Dew. Dew had left home when he was 15 to apprentice with the head chef in Veil. Now, almost 30 years later, Dew had taken the place of his master as head chef in Veil, and had raised Amer as if he were his own. He and his wife Mari had taken each of the king's children under their wing, for Mari had been wet nurse to the youngest when their mother died. 

"He reminded me a bit of you," Dew had told me, when he was telling me of his relationship with Amer. When I had laughed and told him the young, pampered prince and I could have nothing in common, my poor brother had become very uncomfortable and I had begun to understand. 

"His... ah, preferences are the same as yours," he had told me, with a glance down at the piercing my tunic covered. The piercing I only uncovered in certain places of business that catered to men like me. Men who preferred the sexual pleasures of other men.  

Poor Dew had never understood his younger brother's predilections, even more so than my father. But at least I knew my brother still loved me, and didn't think I was some sort of abomination. My father had sent me away to join the king's army when he had found me in the barn with Elliot, the town baker's son. 

20 years later, and I only longed to go back to my family's little farm and tend it the way I should have been doing the last two decades. My poor mother and brother Teri were left alone with the responsibilities of the farm, since my father had died two years ago and I had been away full-time fighting in the war with Akar. The many letters from Teri, begging me to return and help with the farm, had only gotten more frantic as the war had ended and I was now free to do as I would. 

Except this last thing— the only good I felt I had done in my 20 year career— I had to do before I went home. I had to ensure Butcger never harmed another child. And that any he still held captive would be taken care of. 

Then my freedom from the army of El'kahr would truly be won. 

It was just as I was lamenting the bloodshed I knew we would now have to endure, that I heard the call come up from the edges of camp. I turned to see three riders break the horizon, just as the sun was beginning to lower into the western sky. 

"Ah," I muttered to Aron, my sergeant. "The Akarans are here."

Aron stiffened, his hand reaching to grip his sword, but I held my hand out to him to hold him back. 

"They are allies, Aron."

"Yeah," he growled, rolling his eyes but keeping his hand on his sword. "Maybe today they are."

The man in the lead led his horse directly in front of me before dismounting and making a gesture I was unfamiliar with. I nodded in return, unsure if I was supposed to return the gesture, and the man looked me up and down. 

His sneer let me know in no uncertain terms how he felt about being there. And being there with me in particular. 

He was my height, but I had more bulk. Which was surprising, as the men of Akar usually outweighed us of El'kahr. But the men in my family had always been larger than most. This was not to say he was a small man. He towered over the men who were beginning to surround us, even his fellow Akarans who still sat on horseback behind him. His muscles were wiry, tight, a swordsman's body, where mine were bulging and born from a lifetime plowing fields and wrestling cattle while I wasn't training in the king's army or patrolling on the borders. 

His skin was the color of dark honey, directly from the hive, his eyes nearly burgundy, almond shaped and sparkling with passion and ferocity in the sunlight. His brows and eyelashes were thick and dark, his lips firm, and his golden brown hair cut short with military precision around his face. He was all hard edges, his cheekbones sharp as the knives at his waist and tucked into his leather boots. 

I instantly felt my stomach clench in desire that I forced back. Because despite knowing the Akarans were far more open about same-sex relationships than my own people and any advances on my part wouldn't be mocked and shunned as they would by most of the men of my own country, I also knew immediately who the man was. 

Queen Hestiel had sent a missive that he was on his way to backup my contingent of soldiers. A warning to keep myself and my men on our best behavior. 

The Tribal Chief Ember. A man almost legendary in his outspoken hatred of El'kahr and her people.


	3. Secret Weapon

EMBER—

The man was absolutely huge and frustratingly gorgeous. His skin was light as all the El'kahrians, but he was tanned heavily by the sun. He was probably a decade my senior, his hair and neatly trimmed beard salt and pepper blonde. His hair hung in waves around his gentle face, most of it having fallen out of the braid he had pulled it back into, his pale blue eyes watching me with barely disguised approval. 

So not all El'kahrians were prudes. Nice to note, I supposed. 

He was about my height, maybe an inch or so taller, but he outweighed me by at least 50 pounds. His muscles screamed of hard work rather than battle, and his clothes spoke of humility. He wore heavy leathers and thick but worn boots. His clothes were well made, but hard worn. Not the clothes I had come to expect from the nobles of El'kahr. 

Even their general had worn jewels and thin, embroidered silks to war. It was pathetic. 

This man wore clothes that showed he had worn them through many battles and for many years. His hands were proportionately large and they were covered in calluses, scars, and dirt. 

This was not a man afraid to get his hands dirty. 

The thought sent a spark of something I refused to name up my spine. 

"Captain Sage?" I asked, turning my attention to the smaller man beside him, who had his fingers around his sword at his waist. I spared him barely a glance— the arm his captain had held out across his chest would hold him back from attacking me just fine. 

And if it didn't, it would be one more dead El'kahrian. I had no qualms with that. 

"I'm Sage," the large man growled, his voice so deep it sounded as if it was coming from deep in his belly, somewhere near his spine. "You're Ember?"

"I am. My men are just behind. Make sure yours don't do anything stupid when they see them coming, will you?"

Sage grunted, but shook his head. "They know you're comin'," he answered with a shrug as he finally dropped his arm from the other man's chest. "This is Aron, my sergeant. We've been—"

"— You've been trying to negotiate with monsters," I cut in, rolling my eyes as both men tensed at my tone and words. I refused to be polite to men who would have gladly cut my head from my body only a matter of a few months ago. And likely hadn't lost that inclination, if the way Aron was glaring me down was any indication. "We're here to end negotiations. You've allowed a monster to continue to harm children for far too long. Whether they are El'kahrian or any other nationality, they are children. They don't deserve us turning a blind eye any longer."

Sage cocked his head at my words, studying me, before nodding. As he began to speak, I could hear my men arriving behind me, but I kept my attention on the captain. 

"Agreed. Heartily, believe me. But I worry, if you simply go in with full force, they may kill the children before we can get to them. I don't know about you and your men, but I wanted no more bloodshed to mar my soul if I could help it... Especially that of children."

I felt shame at his lack of anger for my obvious contempt, that had so obviously blinded me to the logic of his words. My shame was only compounded by his calm in the face of my angry contempt. 

"You're right," I muttered grudgingly. "But we have something they don't know we have. Something that will make it very easy to break through their defenses."

"Yeah?" Sage asked, and his question was genuine. He was simply going to ignore my antagonism. He genuinely only wanted to help the children. I could tell from how he would set aside his own pride, at being unable to break through the gate, and listen to men he had only recently considered enemies; look to them for a solution. "What's that?"

"Brin," I called, smiling when Sage's eyebrows shot up at the young woman who dismounted and came up beside me. She was tall and wiry, but her mates, Count and Fern, dwarfed and flanked her as she cocked her head up at Sage. She wore the leathers and heavy cottons of a warrior, her trousers clinging to her thick thighs, her boots rising up to her knees. Her full breasts were covered by a blue cotton shirt and thick leather tunic. 

Count and Fern were not related in any way, but looking at them, they could be brothers. They were the same height, had the same dark hair, same shade of cinnamon skin, wore the same dark shirt, heavy tunic, and thick fur boots I knew Brin had made for them. She was one of our best seamstresses. 

And one of the only people in my tribe with wild magic. It was said my tribe had bred with the El'kahrians so much it had sullied our blood, and we were punished with less wild magic. 

"This is..." Sage whispered, his rumbling voice confused as his sergeant cut in when he was unable to finish. 

"Is this some joke? You bring a bitch whore with you, and that's supposed to be some secret—"

The man was forced to cut off his words, for he had both Count and Fern's daggers pressed to his throat, just above and below his prominent adam's apple. 

Neither man spoke El'kahrian, but there are some words that they had heard often enough that the meaning was unmistakable. 

"Calm, mates," Brin murmured in Akari, moving up between the two men, her hands on their muscled arms to pull them back. They reluctantly lowered their daggers, their eyes fierce as they glared the sergeant down. The man swallowed when he was freed, and was held back from yanking his sword from its scabbard by a barked growl from Sage and a raised arm. 

Sage glared the man down, his expression fierce, before he turned to Count and Fern, bowing slightly. 

He met Brin's eyes and said firmly, "I apologize on behalf of my sergeant. We are frustrated we have made no progress, and tempers are high."

With my tribe being on the border of El'kahr, we sometimes did trade with the nearby towns and farms, so many of my people spoke El'kahrian. Brin was one of those, so she smiled sweetly, her hands still on her mates' arms, holding them back. 

"Thank you. I understand your frustration. We're all here to help the children."

Sage nodded, then stepped back and I noticed with a jolt he had managed to move just a bit in front of the other man. Was it to protect him from us, or the opposite? 

"Now, can you please explain— how will you assist in getting us into the castle?"

"I have wild magic," Brin answered simply, shrugging. "I'll get in, and I'll open the gate."

"If we go during the darkest part of the night," I cut in, "we can sneak in, take out the guards and any who are loyal to Butcger. And no children will be harmed, because it will be a stealth mission. They won't know we're there until our blades are at their throats."

Sage was silent for a few moments, and I could see what was likely a highly intelligent mind working, moving through various paths, seeing all of the possible outcomes. 

"Alright," he finally said, his eyes moving from me to Brin and back again. "Can you explain what you meant. What is wild magic?"

Brin laughed, and her mates seemed to relax just a bit more as she leaned into them, still trying to calm them with her warm, pliant body against theirs. 

"You'll see, El'kahrian."


	4. Try

SAGE—

We waited almost five hours, for the sun to set, the sky to darken to black, and the castle we were camped outside of to quiet. Only then did Ember motion for me to follow him, Brin, and her two mates. Aron had argued with me, trying to get me to allow him to go with us, but I refused. 

I refused to force Brin’s mates to be on guard. They had enough on their plates to protect her from enemies— they shouldn’t have to be wary of their allies too, and he had set them on edge. 

It had been a long few hours. Ember’s men had camped on the outskirts of our camp, and I could see a few men trying to mingle, but the air was mostly stale and the conversations stilted. 

Ember had been silent, staring me down the entire time we ate. I ignored him, tended to my armor and weapons, and conversed with Brin. 

She was a stunning woman. Not quite beautiful, but unique in a way that drew the eye. Her eyes were large and pure yellow. Not hazel, but pure, almost sickly _yellow_. She was a full head shorter than me, but taller than most women, and her hair hung freely around her head— and was a color that you would more likely see in El’kahr. It was reddish brown, and looked dichotomic against her smooth brown skin. 

The woman explained a bit about the legends of Akaran wild magic, and after I watched her mates exchange a kiss and a few other gentle, affectionate touches, between the two men, she was quick to laugh and try to explain her relationship with her men. 

I had known Akarans had relationships with more than two, but I had always thought it was like the harems of the west— one man and many women who served him. Brin explained that her and her two mates were in a relationship with each other. They loved each other as much as each of them loved her, and vice versa. 

I wasn’t sure if it was something I could do. I had never been in a relationship. I had fucked willing men who could also be discreet, of course, but it had never been more than scratching a physical itch with them. But at my age, I knew myself, and I knew I would be a jealous, possessive bastard if I did find a man I could spend my life with. So to share my man with someone else? 

No. I couldn’t even picture it. 

When Ember stood and announced it was time, I followed him, Brin, and her mates, until we were on the border of the camp. The woman turned to her mates, softly murmuring a few words in Akari, kissing each gently, before there was a strange shuffling, then cracking, and she was gone. 

And standing in a pile of leathers and cotton was a small coyote. Reddish brown fur, long, sharp muzzle, heavy paws. 

I jerked back, my entire body tense as the animal met my eyes, her flashing yellow eyes the same as they had been when she had been a woman. 

“Dear gods,” I whispered, a shiver running down my spine. 

The coyote yipped before she pounced back and into the darkness in the shadows of the castle's walls. 

Fern lifted her clothes into his arms, and the two men moved back into the camp, as if nothing had happened. As if their wife hadn’t just turned into a fucking coyote. 

Ember laughed as he met my eyes, and motioned back to the camp. 

“We need to get our men ready. She’ll be quick. The gate will be open within ten minutes.”

I nodded stupidly, then shook my head. 

“We never had a chance, did we?” I muttered, not really expecting an answer. 

But Ember’s dark eyes flashed as he met mine. 

“Brin’s the least of the power my people wield, El’kahrian. Yours are lucky Geir was chosen as Warlord. If it had been me, there would have been no mercy, no surrender, no peace, no Warprize. I would have left none alive.” 

EMBER—

Sage’s shudder as my words coated his skin, digging into his mind, brought me both vindication and shame. I didn’t want to feel respect for this El’kahrian, but I was beginning to. Not only had he held his man back from his harsh words towards Brin, he had stayed calm and polite in the face of my antagonism, had spent the last few hours deep in conversation with Brin, learning of things he was ignorant of, and then had been faced with something his mind must have been telling him was impossible. And through it all, he seemed unflappable. He was still calm, stoic, warm. Despite my angry words, he still watched me with curiosity and heat— as if he understood my anger, and was allowing me to strike out against him. 

As if he was letting himself be the patsy for my anger at his people. 

I tried to shake the thoughts off, but when we reached the middle of the camp, and he began issuing orders, my own men already prepared by Count and Fern, who had left just ahead of us, I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. I refused to let myself feel attraction to the El’kahrian, despite how damn sexy he was. Gods, even watching him walk, his thick, muscled thighs, his taut ass, made my groin hot, my stomach clenching. I wanted to see if he would submit to me. I wanted him on his knees beneath me, his stern mouth wide, my fingers digging into those long waves of hair as I led his mouth where it belonged. I wanted to see his eyes filling with wet as he gagged on my length, all of that power and strength contained beneath my fingers. 

I shook my head to clear it, cursing under my breath, and turned to a very amused Fern, who watched me with laughter all but bubbling from his eyes. 

“ _You alright there, Chief_?” he asked in Akari, his eyes dipping down to my crotch, where I knew my interest in the damn captain was clear. 

“ _Shut up_ ,” I growled in answer. Fern’s laughter drew Sage’s attention, and I quickly mounted my horse and turned away so the man wouldn’t see my flushed face. 

“ _No one would blame you for showing the giant El’kahrian the pleasures that can be had between men. He looks like he needs a good, hard pounding… Or that he would be great at giving one_.”

I grunted and rolled my eyes as a few of my men around us chuckled, and with Sage’s glance from Fern to me, and then the men around me, I knew he guessed we spoke of him. His frown was slight, the hurt in his eyes, however, shot a pang of guilt through my chest. 

“ _Stop it, Fern_ ,” Count murmured, his hand on his mate’s knee. “ _The giant thinks you’re mocking him_.”

“ _The giant has probably killed dozens, if not hundreds of our people_ ,” Fern growled back. “ _A little mockery is his due_.”

I grunted in agreement, but that hurt I had seen, the way he refused to meet my eyes now, bothered me. 

And that I would not bear. 

“My men are amused by my sexual attraction to you,” I said, my voice loud enough for the captain to hear, but quiet enough that none other would. “We all know how stunted you El’kahrians are sexually, so they think it would be entertaining to watch me seduce you.”

My words had been meant to be truthful, honest only. I didn’t like him thinking we were making fun of him. 

His reaction was not one I expected. 

He blushed in a way that had the hairs on my thighs standing on end, but finally met my eyes fully. And with his words so quiet I may not have heard them if they weren’t also so firm, he leaned towards me with a smirk lighting up those soft looking, fucking _bitable_ lips. 

“You’ll never know how I’ll react unless you try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Llyric is just hangin’ there, still waiting * wind blows a tumbleweed through an abandoned town *


	5. Wired Shut

SAGE—

I barked out a laugh when Ember's mouth dropped open, before kicking my horse into motion and leaving him behind me. I knew he wouldn't really follow through on his words, on his taunts. His prejudice and hatred of my countrymen was obvious, as was his contempt of me personally— probably due to my status as captain. And I refused to defend myself, try to explain that I had only just been given my post back by Queen Hestiel, because my people were due the censure. It was the least I could do to endure a bit of hatred, for the innocent lives lost due to the war we started for nothing but greed. 

So I would take any hatred he dealt me, and I wouldn't fight him on it. 

I could tell he had only explained his men's words because he was an honorable, honest man, and dammit, I wish he would stop making himself even more attractive. It was hard enough to keep my hands to myself and my mind out of the bedchamber. 

Because gods, the things I would do to that stern mouth and that perfect, caramel skin. I would dirty him, and show him not all in El'kahr were prudish. 

Some of us were downright dirty. 

I pulled back into the present when I rounded on the gate and it was wide open. I silently sent my men through the castle, level by level, and it was almost too simple to take the men inside down. There were only about three dozen men and a handful of servants, and each was bound, or killed if they woke and fought. 

I noticed Fern and Count following a darting, reddish-brown shadow, both carrying bits of their wife's clothes, before they returned a few minutes later with Brin at their heels. Her hair was mussed, but she looked no worse for the wear. She winked when she caught me watching her, and I couldn't help the amused smile that broke on my lips. 

Within an hour, Butcger was bound at my feet. And it took everything in me not to tear him apart from the toes up. The horror stories told about the man... 

Ember stood beside me, his steady, powerful presence a balm on my bloodlust. Especially at the sight of Butcger's trousers untied, his stomach bare, and his hair sex-mussed. 

And the boy, barely 8, Fern held to his chest, covered only by Fern's own cloak. 

"He's _mine_ ," Ember hissed from my side, drawing a pathetic whimper from the bound, trussed Butcger. The man was hogtied, a gash across his left eyebrow dripping blood back into his dark gray hair. "He will pay for—"

"—The queen gets him, Chief Ember," I cut in, wanting nothing more than to watch what Ember would do to the man. What he would make him suffer before granting him the mercy of death. "She wanted to make his execution public. To send a message. It's important."

Ember breathed deeply, his eyes flashing from Butcger to the child in Fern's eyes, then up to me. 

"She will make him suffer?" he whispered, his eyes meeting mine. I saw the reluctant trust, and the anger and helpless frustration in them. And I understood completely. This was a crime against nature, to let this monster live much longer. But he had lived so long with the protection of the past king. Queen Hestiel had to send a message to any others that this type of evil, and any others, would no longer be tolerated. 

"I guarantee it. Queen Hestiel is... brutal." Butcger grunted, fighting his restraints, and I laughed down at him. "See? Even the Monster knows it— she will show no mercy. I swear it to you. He will die in agony."

Ember simply nodded and moved away, towards Fern. The child in his arms cried out at the big man's approach, but Fern was whispering in the boy's ears, his hands soothing on his back, and the child calmed again. 

I motioned for four of my men to bring Butcger away somewhere out of sight, until I could send him back to Veil in the morning. When I looked back, Ember and Count were deep in conversation, and Brin and Fern were kneeling together, the child surrounded by their warmth and Brin's affectionate, loving brushes against his tear-streaked face. She spoke to him quietly, her words making him nod frantically and clutch at Fern tighter. 

"There are five children in the castle," Ember said to me as I moved towards him and Count. "The child Fern found Butcger grunting atop, a set of twins of maybe 3-years-old, a boy of 13, and another boy of 5. They seem healthy, all things considered, but—"

"—Captain!" Aron called, drawing me over to him with Ember at my back. Aron glanced at the Akaran with barely-concealed distrust and hatred before he saluted me. "There's something you need to see. Bring a healer!"

I glanced over at Ember. "Our healer is with the children. Can yours—"

"—I've trained under a hedge witch. I'll be able to assist until a healer can be spared," he answered. I nodded and motioned for Aron to lead the way to whatever he was so flustered to show us. 

Aron froze, his eyes flickering to Ember with disgust before meeting my eyes with defiance showing through as clear as day. 

"Are we really so fallen we'll trust _barbarian_ medicine?" he hissed, his hatred for not only the man at my side, but me, evident. 

I growled low, stepping up and standing above Aron and glaring deep into his eyes. 

"Your insubordination has been noted, and will be reported, Sergeant Kran'n. Now lead the way, or I swear to all the gods, I will have you hogtied and in the dirt beside Butcger."

A flash of anger so fierce I reached for my sword flashed through Aron's eyes, but then he was turning and leading us through the castle, down various stairways, ever deeper into the cold shadows of the stone walls. 

"Your men are defiant against your leadership," Ember remarked quietly, so only I could hear. 

I chuffed out what I hoped sounded something close to a laugh. "Before Hestiel, Aron was my captain, because I refused to... It doesn't matter. I'm not exactly beloved by my men, let's leave it at that. I'll be happy when I can leave swords and bloodshed behind me."

My words had been far too honest, but I couldn't regret them. They were the truth, and I could never regret truth spoken aloud. 

Aron's frantic rushing worried me, for I had never seen him rattled— the man was like steel, harsh and cold and bitter— but I followed silently, Ember's footsteps at my back somehow calming. 

EMBER—

I followed the ever-intriguing Sage as we wove our way through the castle's cold stone walls. He seemed to fall deeper into himself after his words about his promotion with Hestiel's ascension to the throne. The stories that were abounding about the new queen made me see Sage in a different light. 

If he had been in a lower status under the old king, and promoted by the new queen... It spoke highly of him, to say the least.

The hair on the back of my neck and on my arms began to rise as the air around us grew colder with each step down steep stone stairways. When we finally reached what I guessed was our destination, I could see little puffs of my breath rising in front of me. 

My breath caught as Aron opened the strong metal door that led into a thin stone hallway, where one of Sage's men stood and stared into what looked like a prison cell. 

But what caught my eye, and stole the very breath from my lungs, was the child that hung from the wall on the far side of the cell. I thought he was dead at first, his body so pale it was gray, his skin covered in blood, dust, piss, and other things I didn't dare name. He was tied with chains, spread eagle against the wall, his head hanging limply against his chest. His wrists and ankles were covered in dried blood from the bindings around them, and his body, beneath the grime, was covered in whip marks, burns, brand marks, cuts, bruises... 

I almost threw up, but I managed to hold my bile in as Sage began yelling orders. He got the door to the cell open, and then I was moving. My body worked of its own accord, my hands grabbing the keys from Aron, frantically trying each one until I finally managed to unlock his left foot. 

A groan above me drew my gaze, and it was the first sign of life I'd seen or heard. Only then did I see his chest rise and fall with light, labored breaths. Sage was cupping the boy's cheeks, whispering soft words of assurance as I worked on getting him off the damn wall. 

"He's alive," I gasped in shock as I unlocked the other ankle and rose to reach for his outstretched arms. He began jerking weakly, making his wrist wounds reopen and blood drip down his arms. 

"No, shh," Sage whispered, his hands stroking the boy's cheeks, trying to calm him. "Shh we're not here to hurt you. You're safe now. We're gonna get you outta here. Gonna get you somewhere safe, sweetheart. You're alright. You're safe now."

The boy's protests died only a little, and when his eyes opened, they fixed blurily on Sage. He groaned again as I let his left arm down gently, moving around Sage, and began working on his right arm. He shook his head, the noises making it past his lips pleading now. 

"Dear gods," Sage murmured as he took the boy's weight. "He weighs as much as a child."

"He _is_ a _fucking_ child," I growled back as I unlocked the last lock and the boy fell fully into Sage's arms. 

"He's not. Look closer. He's tiny, but from starvation. He's at least 19, likely older. I don't know for sure. He's young, aye, but not a child."

I knelt in front of Sage and moved towards the boy, who was now weakly clutching at Sage's shirt. He was shaking his head, staring up at the big man, his hands seeming to push the captain away in a delirious sort of fear. 

Gods, he was right. He was at least 20, maybe older. Not the child I had first assumed due to his tiny stature and too-thin limbs. I studied the boy, pulling my fur cloak from my shoulders to wrap him, as I poked and prodded his body, searching for any life-threatening injuries. He was ravaged, but I couldn't see anything that would immediately take his life. His wrists and ankles had been cut open in his struggles as we took him down, but the bleeding was already drying up again. 

His eyes were dark, although in the shadows of the cell I couldn't tell their color, and when it was clean I could see his hair would be a deep, pure red. Piercings ran through both nipples, up and down his small cock, and there were two in the bit of space between his cock and asshole. There was also some strange bits of metal in his cheeks, and his mouth was stern, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked painful. 

I knew the El'kahrians pierced their bodies, and each piercing had a different meaning. But I had never seen the cheek piercings he bore. 

I looked up at Sage, and almost flinched back at the look in his eyes as he fingered the bits of metal in the boy's cheeks. 

"What do those piercings mean?" I asked quietly, tucking my cloak around the boy's body, assured he would live until we could get him out of this hellhole. 

His eyes met mine and they were filled with such hatred, such bloodlust and horror, I almost fell back onto my ass. 

"Those aren't piercings. His jaw is fucking wired shut."


	6. Safe

LLYRIC—

Horror, hatred, disgust, bloodlust— the emotions around me were overwhelming. I wanted to fall back, hide in the darkest corner of my cell where I sometimes felt safe. I wanted them to tie me back up, because it had been so long since my last feeding, and I was _so close_. I didn't want them to wake me. I had just barely been able to feel my Mama's warm breath on my face as she kissed my cheek. 

Then the giant who smelled like sunlight and gentle touches was holding me in his arms, while the foreign man who felt like anger and hatred and smelled like disgust and soft kisses was unlocking my chains. 

I wanted to beg them to leave me. I tried to. But they couldn't hear me past the wires in my mouth. They couldn't hear the desperation in my voice as I begged them, and any god within earshot, to _just let me die._

Despite my protests, I was engulfed in warmth, staring up into horrified but kind eyes, and I hadn't felt safe and warm like that since my Mama cut her wrists with my body clutched in her arms until long after she had gone cold.

I dug my face into the giant's chest, counting his soothing breaths and the beat of his steady heart. 

"What do those piercings mean?" the man who smelled of soft kisses whispered. He had an accent, but it was thin, his voice husky.

"Those aren't piercings," the giant said, his voice deep and growly, sending strange sparks across my skin. I could hear the anger in his voice, but rather than making me afraid, I dug myself deeper into his arms. His anger somehow made me feel... safe. "His jaw is fucking wired shut." 

I wanted to explain. To tell them my voice made Father uncomfortable. My screams made his penis hard, but my voice, my begging, made him go soft for weeks. And his anger about his soft penis was taken out on my back, and on the children he kept in the rooms above. I could hear their screams sometimes, late at night, when all else was silent. I prayed for them sometimes— prayed he could find a way to touch me so he would leave them alone. Because I knew what those poor children didn't. 

They were substitutes for me. For the one he couldn't touch. The one he couldn't rape and sully and hurt.

Alas, I couldn't explain this to the giant and the other one. The one whose fingers were so gentle on my skin, checking for injuries. I wanted to tell him it had been far too long since Father had me beaten for me to have any life-threatening injuries. 

But I couldn't. 

The giant rose to his feet, and I mewled pathetically as his movements jostled my torn wrists against him. 

"I'm so sorry, sweet boy," he whispered directly into my ear. His hot breath against the sensitive skin was like a caress across my entire body and I melted into him at the strange sensation. "We're gonna get you all cleaned up and get those wires out of your mouth. You're safe now."

I sobbed, terrified. Father was going to be so angry when he found out they had given me a cloak for warmth, and were going to treat my wounds. I tried to protest— I didn't want them hurt for me; they both seemed so kind— but neither paid my grunts any attention. The giant simply held me closer, following closely behind the other man. 

I could see a tie between the men, a bright line from the heart of the giant to the chest of the foreign man. I looked at my own chest, frowning when I saw the same line leaving my chest, leading directly into both men. I had never seen it before, but it didn't scare me. There was something about it that felt... good. Safe. Warm. Peaceful. 

Strange things, like the sight of the ropes between us, happened to me often. And I had learned to accept them and trust them, and not question them. I understood their meaning, and I accept it. The few times I'd seen or felt something and _hadn't_ accepted it had led to pain and disappointment. 

When we exited out into the front courtyard of the castle, where I hadn't been since I was a child nearly as tall as Father's knees, I kept my face pressed against the giant's chest, my fingers digging into his shoulder and chest. I could feel the moonlight tingling on my skin, the stars dancing in excitement at the sight of me after so long. 

"Ember!" a voice called, followed by a smattering of words in a language I didn't recognize. The foreign man answered, and I recognized his husky voice. 

_Ember_ , I thought with a tingle up my spine. It fit him, somehow. Warm and safe but biting and dangerous. 

I wanted to taste the name on my tongue, but all I could taste now was dirt and blood and bile. 

"The other children are alright, Sage," Ember's voice spoke from just to the giant's right. So the giant's name was Sage. His name fit him, too. Fit his big, warm, safe arms. "Asleep in a tent in camp. The hedge witch finished looking them over, so she can come see to the kid. See if we can get the wires out."

I moaned and could feel both men freeze, then Ember's cold but oh-so-gentle fingers were pulling my face to meet his eyes. 

" _Ninya_ , you're safe. That man can't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt you for taking out the metal. I swear, _ninya_ , you're safe."

I reached up, fingering his chest, on the left side, where the thread left his body and led to mine, and to Sage's. He stiffened, and I could sense his confusion, before he gently gripped my fingers and stared into my eyes. 

"You're safe," he repeated. I nodded as much as I could, before pulling my hand back into the warmth of his cloak. He watched me for another moment before glancing up at Sage and then turning away.


	7. Blush

EMBER—

The emotions that rushed through me, like the blood through my veins, were completely foreign to me. I had been thrown off by my attraction to Sage, who was far from my usual type— the man was bigger than me, godsdamnit— but now this boy, broken and beaten, had me wanting to wrap him up, keep him warm and safe, protect his frail body from any and all dangers. 

He had me wanting to pull Sage in closer, keep the boy warm with our joined body heat. Keep him safe with our combined strength.

I moved away before I could do something stupid. I could feel Sage's eyes on me as I began to coordinate our camp and our departure in the morning. Per an agreement between Queen Hestiel, Jacob of the Buckhide Tribe, and the Warlord Geir, the prisoners would go to Veil in El'kahar and the children would be placed at my discretion. I had been told that the eldest of the five children was Akaran, but the others were too scared to tell yet. They weren't even talking to the healer yet, I had been told. If we found out they were El'kahrian, I would consult with Geir's Warprize as to what I should do with them. But for now, they would go home with my healer, along with the others. 

I had been informed within moments of coming back into the front courtyard by Fern and Brin, that they and their mate Count were adopting the child Fern had found in the Defiler's bed. Count had stood firm at their backs, but his face had been filled with affectionate amusement as he watched his mates all but confront me. And one glance at the child, now dressed in what looked like one of Brin's soft cotton shirts, tied around him and his legs like a strange dress, with one of their cloaks surrounding him like a cocoon, calmed any objections I may have had. He was much calmer than he had been only 20 minutes ago when I had seen him last, and the way he held onto Fern told me it would be a hassle to get him away from the man. 

" _You live near the hedge witch_ ," I answered. " _He'll need a close eye on any injuries, as well as his mental growth being affected by his traumas. But I'm sure you three know this. My only objection would be that he may have family he was taken from_."

" _He doesn't_ ," Fern answered easily, and the child dug his face into his neck and held him even tighter than he had been before. Fern's hand rose up and down, rubbing the child's back soothingly. " _He's El'kahrian, but he speaks some Akari he learned from some of the other children he's known since he's been with the Defiler. He told us his parents and elder siblings died of fever a few years ago. He barely remembers them._ "

I nodded and bit my lip at the idea of an El'kahrian child being raised so near my own home. But I would have to get used to it— my tribe would likely be adopting the children, even the El'kahrians, if we couldn't find their families. Or if their families were unsuitable for the children. 

I wasn't naive enough to be unaware that some of the children would have been sold by willing parents. It was the reason I would be seeking the children's parents out, but would also need the Warprize's aid, so I could ensure the families taking the children wouldn't simply turn around and sell them again for another profit. 

" _His name?_ " I asked, in answer to their demand to adopt the child. I could see Brin melt a little with relief at my acquiescence. 

" _Shobek_ ," Brin answered quickly. " _Strange name, so we're going to call him Bek. He says he likes it_."

The child looked up at me with wide eyes, nodding a little, and I smiled as gently as I could, keeping my voice soothing as I spoke in El'kahrian so he would understand fully. 

"It's nice to meet you, Bek. Welcome to the Starwind Tribe."

"They takin' the kid in?" Sage asked from behind me, and it was only then I realized he still stood a few feet from me, holding the pale, shivering boy in his arms.

I had the sudden fear that Sage would protest an El'kahrian child being raised in an Akaran home, so I answered quickly, defensive of my tribal mates. 

"Yes. He says he has no family, and they are without young in their mating yet, so they will take him in as their young. They will care for him."

Without a hint of hesitation, Sage nodded, smiling at Brin and Fern, then nodding back at Count. "I'm sure they will."

_And again, he surprises me_. 

" _Count_ ," I called, pulling my mind back to what we needed first and foremost. I knew not where the El'kahrian healer was, but the child we found in the dungeons' jaw bindings were beyond my ability to treat. " _Where is Al'iya_?"

" _She's with the children, Chief_ ," Count answered. " _Want me to fetch her_?"

" _Please. We'll wait her in my tent_ ," I answered. Count ran back outside of the castle gates before I had even turned back around to Sage. "Come, let's get the boy somewhere warmer."

Sage shook his head and his eyes glanced behind me, to the serene lake just outside the castle's walls.

"Cutting the jaw bindings will inevitably open wounds. He needs to be clean. He's covered in filth."

The boy whimpered, looking up and meeting my eyes. I could see the desire there. The pleading to feel human, to be clean. 

"Right," I replied, nodding. Sage sighed, as if relieved he hadn't had to fight me on bathing the boy, and followed as I led the way out of the castle's walls and towards the camp he and his men had set up just outside. I wove my way past Sage's men, who were preparing for their return home the next morning, towards the edges of their camp where we had set up our own tents and fires. 

"Meet me at the lake. I'll grab cloths and soap."

Sage nodded, and I watched for a moment as he wove his way around my men and tents, before shaking my head to clear it and ducking into my tent. I gathered the supplies we would need and followed Sage to the lake. 

When I caught sight of him, I all but froze in my tracks. He held the boy tight to his chest, his face tilted to the moonlight. The boy watched him, his eyes wide with emotions I didn't want to try to name. When the boy's eyes flickered and caught mine, I gasped at the sensation that lit my skin on fire. A tug in my chest forced me to stumble forward, and before I knew what I was doing, my hands were on the boy's face. 

"Do your people believe in magic?" I asked. My eyes never left the boy, but I knew Sage understood I was speaking to him. 

He shrugged and shook his head a bit. "We're practical people. We believe in what we can see. Touch. You can't touch or see magic."

"This boy..." I broke off, shaking my head. "Never mind. Let's get him clean. My healer will be waiting."

Sage nodded, and gently set the boy on his feet. He was shorter than I had initially thought— the top of his head barely reached my chest, and Sage was a few inches taller than me. Sage pulled the cloak open, and the boy let him with no qualms, only shivering slightly when his filthy, scar-covered body was subjected to the cold air. 

"We'll be quick, alright?" Sage whispered to the boy as he shucked off his own shirt and pants, leaving himself in only his loincloth. It took everything in me not to whine at the perfect, broad chest he revealed. At the way his thighs bunched with muscle and his pink nipples puckered in the cold air. "We just need to get ya clean. Then we can get ya warm."

The boy nodded, a tiny smile marking his face as he moved towards Sage. He reached out, his fingers gently prodding at the belly piercing that sparked in the moonlight on Sage's stomach. He looked up and met Sage's gaze, and the look in Sage's eyes had me almost stepping back. 

It was filled with warm amusement, confusion, and surprise. 

And heat. 

"You know what it means, sweetheart?" Sage asked. 

The boy nodded, his fingers trailing up the line of dark blonde hair on Sage's belly, through the patch on his chest, his eyes fixed on the trail his fingers made.

I knew the El'kahrians had a strange custom of putting certain meanings behind their piercings. And for the first time, I was curious as to the meaning behind them. I wondered what the ones the boy sported— for gods he had many— meant. He had at least four like a ladder up his small, flaccid prick, and I had caught sight of a couple behind his balls while Sage carried him. Both of his ears were covered in bars and dripping diamonds, an emerald dangled from his belly, and one little ruby dot adorned his left nostril. 

I remembered meeting Amer, Geir's Warprize, and catching sight of the little nipple piercings poking through his mating robes. Sriny'ete, Jacob of the Buckhide Tribe's mate, had explained that the nipple piercings were the mark of a slave when I had asked him. But now I wondered what the various piercings on the boy meant. 

And what Sage's meant, that had Sage looking back at me with a blush marking his face, as if worried I knew what the piercing meant too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Thanks for reading! Bek has a book in the future, btw. Like 6 stories in the future, but hey, it's there... eventually :) Just FYI :):)*****


	8. Close Your Eyes

SAGE—

Ember watched us as if he wanted to ask what my piercing, and the boy's many, meant, but he didn't. Instead, he raised his own shirt and tunic, and dropped his pants. My mouth watered as I studied his dark, broad chest, the smattering of coal black hair thin on his chest, then even thinner down his belly, to disappear beneath his loincloth. 

Gods, I wanted to lick that trail down past the impediment of cloth. 

I shook my head, turning away. 

And looked directly into the amused, knowing eyes of the boy. I glared at him mockingly and he would have laughed. If his mouth could open more than an inch. If he wasn't near falling over in pain and exhaustion.

"I just realized," I muttered with an embarrassed smile, the sight of his twitching lips being unable to move further. "My name is Sage. The angry, glowering one is Ember. Can you say your name, sweetheart?"

I gripped the boy's hand in my own, marveling at how warm and comfortable the hand in my own felt.

And how perfectly the much smaller hand seemed to fit in my own palm. 

He shook his head, putting his other hand that wasn't holding mine to his lips in a silencing gesture. 

"That's fine," I whispered, squeezing his hand in an affectionate, calming move. "You'll just have to tell us when we get that damn thing off."

I led the boy to the edge of the water, then we moved into it, followed closely by Ember. When the water reached the boy's waist, barely lapping at my thighs, I stopped. The boy was still as Ember moved around behind him and began lathering a cloth in his hands with a bar of soap. When he had enough on the cloth, he handed another cloth and the soap to me. 

As Ember began rubbing the soaped cloth down the boy's whip-scarred back, I lathered my own cloth up and started on his face.

"Close your eyes, sweetheart," I whispered. He obeyed immediately, his lips pursed and his body tense. He seemed to trust us, but there was still fear there. "We've got you, sweetheart. We won't let anything happen to you anymore. You're safe now."

I whispered the words gently as Ember and I worked efficiently to get the boy clean, trying to keep him as calm as I could. Ember did the same in Akari a few times when I grew quiet, and before long the boy was clean, his head tilted back, a tiny smile on his face. His body was all but slack in our arms, leaning back against Ember. 

When I held the boy's arm up to wash it, I had to fight not to tighten my grip in horror. The boy was covered in whip scars, some brand burns. A few of his fingers were crooked, as if they had been broken and healed wrong, without treatment. When I had cleaned his feet I could see a few of his toes had been cut completely off. 

But this scar cut me to the soul. 

It ran from his inner elbow up to his palm, thick and ropy and still a little red. It rose up, angry and sore-looking, even though I could see it was at least a few years old. 

The boy had tried to end his life at some point. 

Ember caught my eye over the boy's head as I froze completely and fingered the mark. His eyes flickered from mine down to my hands, holding the boy's arm delicately, and his face darkened. He bit out a curse in Akari, drawing the boy's attention. He looked up at Ember, then down to me. 

The boy's eyes met mine, defiant and knowing. 

I could almost hear him, trying to calm me. 

_It's alright_ , he would say. _You're here now. It's over. I survived._

Without really thinking through my actions, I dipped my head and set my lips gently on the scar. Both Ember and the boy's breath caught. I closed my eyes, letting my lips linger, before rising to finish cleaning the boy's arms. 

I noticed the bars up the boy's prick, four of them, and the sex slave piercings on his perineum— the bit of skin between his balls and asshole— there were two of those. And especially the ear piercings up and down both lobes. I couldn't understand why he was pierced as both a noble of great wealth— his ear piercings and cock piercings— and a sex slave— the perineum piercings. 

As I cleaned his prick, I could tell the piercings there and below were old. At least a few years. 

When the boy was clean, I held my hand out and he almost lazily reached up and took it. As if he was so calm, relaxed against Ember's body, enjoying our ministrations, it was almost a chore to make the move. But I noticed he never released his grip on Ember's palm as he grabbed my own hand. I looked over and met the other man's eyes, confused, but Ember simply shrugged, as if the boy's actions were nothing to note. 

EMBER—

I held the tent flap out of the way and Sage ducked inside without a hint of hesitation about putting himself in the vulnerable position of being completely alone with me without any backup. As if it hadn't ever crossed his mind that we were enemies. Again. I grunted and shook my head at the strange man, but followed him inside. 

My tent was as simple as it was small. A pile of furs lay on one end, my saddlebags next to it. There was little space beside my furs, so I forced myself to push back the emotions that rose up in my chest when Sage dropped himself down on the furs and tried to set the boy down on them. 

The boy immediately cried out, clutching at Sage's chest to pull him closer. He shook his head frantically, his eyes glancing up to me, as if to seek my aid in keeping him in Sage's arms. 

"It's alright," I murmured, reaching out to stroke the boy's ratted, tangled hair back out of his face. "You're safe now, _ninya_."

The boy snuck a shaky finger out of the cloak that surrounded him, his eyes latching onto my gaze. I knelt in front of him, distinctly aware of Sage's eyes on me, and stared into the boy's eyes. 

He held that all but convulsing finger out to me, pointed at my chest, his own, and then Sage's. I raised my eyebrows, confused, as he did the motion again. Then he reached his fingers out, stroked my left pectoral, and pulled his fingers in. As if grabbing something from my chest. 

From my heart. 

Understanding dawned just as Al'iya called from outside the tent. 

" _Come in_ ," I said, pulling the tent flap back. I scooted back out of her way, putting me on the other side of the boy. 

Al'iya studied the boy for a moment, the way he clutched at Sage as if at a last lifeline, and then her eyes turned to me. The boy had immediately grabbed my hand when I positioned myself next to him. 

" _I assume the small, shivering one is my patient?_ " Al'iya mumbled with amusement lighting her eyes. 

" _He is_ ," I replied, trying to keep my breaths and heartbeats steady. " _He's one of the Monster's children. But unlike the others, he was not kept in luxury. We found him in the dungeons, strung up like a fucking pig at slaughter. He's covered in old scars and the marks of torture, but nothing very recent. But his jaw is wired shut._ "

" _His_ what!?" Al'iya hissed, making the boy jerk in Sage's arms. He fearfully clutched my hand, but I pet his arm and he dug his face into Sage's chest, seemingly calmed by our joined touch. 

" _Sorry_ ," Al'iya whispered with a chagrined smile. " _Let me take a look. Tell him to look here._ "

I repeated the request for the boy as Al'iya knelt in front of him. She unpacked a few faer lights from her bag, placing them around the tent to light it enough for her to see the boy's injuries. 

At my words, the boy peeked out from Sage's broad chest and met the hedge witch's eyes. 

" _Good boy_ ," she soothed, her fingers gently tilting his head from one angle to another. She asked him to open his mouth, turned his head a few more times, then clicked her tongue and shook her head. 

" _Can you cut it out_?" I asked, rubbing the boy's hand with gentle strokes. Although I didn't know if the move was to comfort him or myself. 

" _Not without cutting him at least a few times. But not too badly, and I'll heal the wounds quickly. I have some pain herbs as well, so he should barely feel a thing. And it will be days, if ever, that he can use that jaw. The gods only know how long this contraption has held him like this. It looks embedded in some places. As if he's grown around it._ "

" _So it was put in him at a young age?_ "

" _Most certainly_ ," she replied with a grim nod. 

I explained her words to Sage and the boy, receiving a horrified growl from Sage and a nod in understanding from the boy. Before I had even finished, Al'iya had a cup of herbs up against the boy's lips. He drank it all without qualm, his eyes on me the entire time, before relaxing back against Sage. 

" _Is he alright in the position he's in?_ " I asked. Al'iya nodded, looking over at how the boy was curled in Sage's lap, his cheek against the big man's chest. 

" _Should be fine. I'll need you on his other side, holding his face out, though. And keep him steady. He jerks, I cut something. The less he moves, the less I cut that I shouldn't be cutting._ "

Again I translated her directions, and Sage nodded in understanding. He tightened his grip on the boy, as I took his head gently in my hands, turning his face up to Al'iya. I held his cheeks in my palms, staring down into black, terrified eyes. 

"I'm here for you, _da'rin_. Hold Sage's hands tight, ok? And if you feel pain, you squeeze those hands as hard as you can. The big guy can handle it."

Sage chuckled and the boy's eyes lit with amusement for just a moment before Al'iya blocked his view of me with sharp metal instruments. 

Despite the pain numbing herbs, the next half hour was painful for the boy. He held still enough that very little blood was spilled, but the fear in his eyes, the whimpers, the tears pouring from beneath his clenched lids to pool in my hands, and the way his hands shook in Sage's, showed his pain. 

When she was finished, Al'iya rubbed salve into the few cuts in his mouth, and on the edge of both sides of his mouth. Then she was gone as quickly as she'd come, leaving us alone in the suddenly dark tent. 

I hadn't even noticed how much light the faer lights were giving off until we were left with only the firelight of the campfire outside my tent. 

The boy sobbed and whimpered, shivering heavily in Sage's arms. I kept hold of his hand, my eyes meeting Sage's from above the boy's head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****THANK YOU FOR READING :):):):):)*****


	9. What Do Your Fingers Do

LLYRIC—

I slept soundly, sandwiched between Sage and Ember, warmer than I had ever been. I could tell, despite the ropes of fate binding us, that the two men were only tolerating each other for my sake. The near-constant silent conversations they held that they didn't think I felt weighed me down. 

Because I knew how good they were going to be together. Side by side. 

But for now, it was an argument about who would lay where, Ember trying to convince Sage to leave me with him and go back to his own tent. Sage scoffing and refusing. Me holding onto both of them to try to keep them both as near as I could. It took me almost breaking down in tears before the men relented and lay down with me between them. 

The woman who cut the bindings from my mouth had been kind, gentle, and full of healing magic she poured into me with each touch. But still the pain of her actions had made my entire face feel as if it throbbed with the heat of the sun. 

So that was how I woke, between the men who had rescued me, who had been nothing but kind and gentle. The light was barely gray outside, so I spent the time I had before they woke studying Ember's stern, harsh face, slack and peaceful in sleep. Tracing the lines around his eyes, the grooves of his muscled stomach. 

"You're gonna wake him," Sage whispered with laughter in his voice from behind me, his hard body pressed up tight against my back. The furs were meant to bed only one or two men, I knew, so the three of us were pressed so tightly together I was all but on top of both men. 

And I had no complaints. 

I whimpered at the thought that Ember might wake and be angry that I was touching him, discovering, learning what was meant to be mine, but I didn't stop my roving hands. 

"You're a tactile little thing, aren't you?" Sage whispered, his own hand tracing hot circles on my hip. 

_You would be too_ , I wanted to say, _if you were never allowed to touch. To be touched._

But instead I made an affirmative noise, pressing back against Sage's warmth. 

He grunted, his hands coming up to hold my hips in place. 

"Keep still, sweetheart. It's morning, and my prick is ready to greet the sun."

I froze, confused by his words. 

"Men grow hard when they first wake. Do you not?"

I shook my head sorrowfully. 

_Just one more thing that makes me a freak._

"Probably due to malnourishment. You're going to be alright, sweetheart," Sage whispered, digging his face into the back of my head and taking a deep breath in. 

I was grateful for his optimism, but I wasn't so sure. The two men I knew were my fate hated each other. It wasn't exactly conducive to a happy future. 

Despite his words of restraint, I continued to press back into Sage's body, his warmth like a balm against my heavily scarred emotions and equally scarred body. 

Sage sighed against my neck, his lips pressing against the soft skin on the bridge between my neck and shoulder. I shuddered, my fingers digging into Ember's chest as Sage nuzzled against me. 

"Fuck," Sage mumbled against my skin, his breath burning the sensitive skin around my ear, his hot, calloused fingers digging into my hips. I could feel his body tense behind me, his hands holding me away from him. But despite the space between us, I could feel his hips rocking the furs behind me. "Why do I feel... Fuck," he repeated. 

I wanted to reassure him, to explain the music I could hear in his soul, drifting back to my broken mind, surrounding us, bonding us, as his arousal spiraled. But even though my jaw was no longer tied shut, I couldn't manage to pull the words up from my belly and through my throat. 

"I'm sorry," Sage whispered, pulling away just a bit more to push his forehead against the back of my head. "That was inappropriate. Forgive me."

I shook my head, wiggling to try to get back into his arms, but he held me still and away from his warmth with a firm hold. 

"Sweetheart, please. You're confused, and scared. You don't need to offer yourself like this. We'll protect you anyways. Just stay still, love."

I froze, anger flashing through me. He thought I was one of Father's children, and I was offering my body in exchange for his aid? 

I may have been broken, but I was no whore. And I wasn't a child.

I never really had been. 

I pulled away from Sage, pushing a bit more into Ember's body. He had worn both a shirt and pants to sleep, but I had hiked his shirt up so I had a clear view and full access to his firm, taut skin. I laid my hand against his belly, reveling in the stark contrast between my pale, almost gray skin and his honey hazel tone. His chest was nearly hairless, but a dark trail led from his belly button down to the edge of his pants.

A flash of image caressed my mind, of licking down that strip, down below his pants. Of finding where it led. 

" _Da'rin_ , what do your fingers do?" Ember mumbled sleepily, looking down at me blurrily. 

I stared up at him, feeling Sage stiffen even further behind me. Ember's eyes flickered to him, then back to me. 

"You shouldn't accost strange men while they sleep, little _da'rin_. They may get bad ideas in their heads."

I smirked. _That was the plan_ , I wanted to tell him.

His smile back was amused and filled with heat. 

"Gods, you would tempt a saint, _da'rin_. Why do you seduce me so?"

Even if I had the voice, I had no words to answer Ember's question. How could I explain something I only barely understood myself? Something that was simply intrinsic in myself. It would be like explaining colors to a blind man, or breathing. It simply was. 

"It's likely a side effect of his abuse," Sage whispered from behind me. As if I wasn't inches from him and couldn't hear his words. "He's seeking validation after his world was upended, and it's the only thing he knows."

I rolled my eyes and sat up, crawling out of the pallet of furs. I wore an oversized shirt—  from the smell I could tell it was Ember's— but nothing else. I turned back and met Ember's eyes with as much fire as I could muster. 

And the doubt in Ember's gaze brought me hope. 

"I'm not sure that's just it, El'kahrian," Ember said, shrugging as he, too, stood. 

"My name is _Sage, Akaran_ ," Sage enunciated, kneeling up so he was eye level with me, but he still had to look up into Ember's eyes. 

I hissed and stomped my foot, drawing the gaze of both men. Their arguments were petty, their hatreds silly and childish. They were supposed to love each other, be devoted and affectionate and never let anything come between them— except me, and only in the best of ways. But they refused to see past their own stubborn differences.  

Ember's stunning, honey drop eyes on me were watchful, probing, and I held his gaze, refusing to look away. His mouth drew up into a small smile as he shook his head. 

"Do you sense something, _da'rin_? Something between us?"

I nodded, grateful he, at least, understood. But then he was sneering back at Sage, shaking his head, and rolling his eyes. "I'll not get saddled with not one, but two El'kahrians. Fate isn't that cruel."

EMBER—

I knew fated mates were rare, and to be treasured. And for a mated pairing to be between three men, none of whom were wild mages, was almost unheard of. But for me to be fated to not only an El'kahrian military captain, but a young man seemingly barely out of adolescence, broken and tortured, also El'kahrian, when I had hated that race of men from the time I was old enough to walk... No, it wasn't possible. And if it was? 

I would deny my fate until my last breath, even if it meant I was alone for the rest of my life.

I left the two men behind, probably wondering why my mood had changed so suddenly. But I refused to sit and explain the crimes of their people to them, and the overbearing rage that had come over me when I had realized the boy truly did see some kind of connection between me, Sage, and himself. 

I dressed as I walked through the camp, ignoring the amused look of my men. They had seen that I had spent the night with both El'kahrians in my small tent, and I knew the teasing wouldn't let up for a long time. Possibly ever. 

I was angry, but that didn't mean I forgot my duties. I forced myself to find Al'iya and send her back to my tent, now that we had woken. She had wanted to check the boy over for other injuries, including sexual molestation, but I had told her to wait until the morning. He had been in shock and overwhelmed from his rescue, and the subsequent removal of his jaw bindings, and I feared he wouldn't be able to handle an examination while in such a fragile state. 

I found Al'iya among the children, with Brin and another of the women warriors Aada assisting her in caring for and feeding the children, readying them for the trip ahead. I could see Sage's men already gathering together, much faster than my own, for they had no children to accomodate for. 

" _Al'iya!_ " I called, drawing the women's gazes and making each of the children flinch. I had to stop myself from hunching in embarrassment. 

" _You couldn't have found a bullhorn to screech my name louder, Chief?_ " Al'iya grumbled, rolling her eyes as she pulled one of the twins— the only girl among the Monster's children— to her breast as the child whimpered. The twins were stunning children, with matching deep black hair, pale ivory skin, and blue eyes that would rival any sky at noonday. If the girl didn't have long hair and wore a dress, I wasn't sure if I would be able to tell them apart.

" _My apologies_ ," I murmured gently, moving forward just a bit so I could kneel near the little group, trying to make myself less imposing to the traumatized children. The sun was rising above the eastern mountains, and I wanted to get going as soon as possible, but I knew it would likely be hours before we had everything ready and the children were comfortable in the cart we had for them— stolen from the Monster's keep. " _I'm a little on edge._ "

" _A little?_ " she joked, patting the girl's back before deftly switching her in her arms and handing her over to me. The little girl's eyes widened as she met mine, unsure, hesitant. 

Ignoring Al'iya's jab, I cooed at the little girl with a gentle smile. 

" _Do they speak Akari?_ " I asked the woman, rubbing the girl's back with a soft touch, trying to calm her. She melted a little in my arms with each brush of my hand, and before long she had her thumb in her mouth and her head was resting on my chest. Each of the children looked a little tired, as if they hadn't slept well the night before and had been woken too early after that little amount of sleep.

" _They don't speak at all as of yet_ ," Brin answered for Al'iya, just as the other twin stood and toddled over to me, his arms outstretched. I shifted the girl in my arms, freeing my left one for the boy to fall into. Once secured in my arm, he laid his head on my shoulder, his tiny fist reaching out to hold onto his sister's free hand that was fisted on my chest.

I stared down into their small, pure faces and felt a rush of fury the likes of which I wasn't sure I had ever felt. 

How could someone hurt, _defile_ , something so precious? 

Just as I thought the words, the boy looked up into my eyes, and in perfect Akari, whispered, " _Is the bad man who hurt me and Harley gone?_ "

I fought the urge to clutch the children to me tighter, and I could sense Brin, Al'iya, and Aada tensing at the boy's words. Not only because they were in Akari, but because how did you answer a question like that? I had been about to ask Al'iya if these youngest children— barely three-years-old— had been molested, but now I had my answer. 

" _He is_ ," I answered as gently as I could with my teeth clenched and rage burning through my veins. " _He's going away, where he'll never be able to hurt you, your sister, or any child ever again._ "

The boy nodded, his hair rubbing up against my neck, before looking over at his sister and sighing. I could feel eyes on me, and looked up at the oldest boy, who was maybe 15, the five-year-old, and the boy called Bek. They all watched me, mostly uncomprehending of what I had said. 

In El'kahrian, I repeated the words, watching as a range of emotions, from relief to anger to a sort of incomprehension passed over the boys' faces, before I turned back to the children in my arms. 

" _What's your name, boy?_ " I asked. " _Do you remember your tribe?_ "

He shook his head, and then just before he put his thumb into his mouth, mimicking his sister, he whispered, " _Jude._ "

I held the twins close, swaying to help them relax, as Al'iya and Brin packed up what they had gathered for the children. I dismissed Aada back to her normal duties, since I was sure Al'iya and Brin could handle the children now that their injuries were seen to and they were dressed and fed. I asked Al'iya to go to the boy back in my tent, and she left soon after. 

" _The eldest boy says he doesn't know how old he is. He's been with the Monster since he was young, before his memories begin,_ " Brin began as she held the young Bek in her arms. The boy was all but limp, but he was awake, basking in her affection as she held him tight and hummed reassuringly every few moments. " _He's El'kahrian, but he says his parents sold him, so we'll either need to find a place for him among our tribe, or ask the El'kahrian queen to house him. His name is Tristan. The youngest besides Jude is called Kye. He has spoken not a word, but Tristan said he's El'kahrian, and an orphan. Tristan heard the servants talking when the boy was brought in about how his parents had died in the prison mines over some debt or another. He still hasn't said a word._ "

Brin took a breath as she looked at the two children in my arms. " _We had been hoping they were El'kahrian, because we have no record of twins, or even siblings matching their age, being missing in Akar._ "

" _Meaning their parents are likely dead, killed in a slaver attack, or by the Defiler himself._ "

" _Likely,_ " she agreed with a grim nod. 

" _And all of them...?_ " I couldn't force myself to finish the sentence, but Brin knew, likely from the horror in my tone, what I asked. 

" _All_ ," she whispered, her hands around the boy in her arms clenching as fire shone in her eyes. " _That man should be disemboweled, have his prick cut off and have all of it fed to swine as he's forced to watch._ "

" _I couldn't agree more._ "


	10. A Bit of a Tale

SAGE—

I had no idea what either Ember or the boy had been talking about, but the way Ember's sudden frustration made the boy curl into himself set off my rarely lit temper. Ember had been almost teasing the boy, playful, amused, until he had confirmed Ember's words— whatever they had meant— and then his mood turned as if possessed by a sudden angry thought he couldn't fight.

I had no chance to defend the boy, because Ember stomped out of the tent without another word, half naked and fuming. I was left with a distraught, confused, hurt young man who looked up at me like I had the answers to Ember's sudden mood shift.

"I don't know, sweetheart," I whispered as he whimpered and pressed his face against my chest. I held him for a moment, comforting him, before pulling back and smiling crookedly. "I'm near starved. You want to see what we can scrounge for breakfast?"

The young man nodded, his eyes lit with reluctant amusement at my tone, and followed me out of the tent. We were immediately met with a dozen pairs of dark Akaran eyes, watching us with curiosity and just a bit of amusement.

 

My eyes were drawn back to what they stared at, and my heart clenched like a vice in my chest. The boy was flinching in the low light of the sun, barely risen above the horizon for a few minutes at most. At its weakest point, he still flinched and jerked back, his eyes having trouble adjusting to the light. After a moment, despite his obvious discomfort, he froze and closed his eyes, tilting his head up to face the sun. His hands came up slowly, as if to embrace the day, and a tiny smile lit his scarred face. There were two holes in the middle of his cheeks from where the jaw bindings had cut through him. Now that the metal was gone, and he was smiling, it looked as if he had two deep dimples. 

" _You hungry?_ " a voice asked in Akari, from a little to my left. The voice broke the spell I had been under, staring the boy down as he basked in the sunlight. I turned and met Count's eyes. I knew some Akari, having grown up in a town near the border with Akar, so I knew the gist of what he had asked us. I nodded and replied with some of the only Akari words I knew how to speak. For the most part, I could understand more than I could articulate. 

" _Yes. Hungry_."

The man huffed out a laugh, probably at my terrible pronunciation, before waving a hand at us to follow him. The boy opened his eyes, still squinting a bit in the light, and then stuck to my side as I took a step to follow Count, shivering a bit as a gentle wind ate at our skin. I was fully dressed, but the boy wore a shirt of Ember's and nothing else. I held my hand up to Count, gesturing for him to wait, before ducking back into Ember's tent and grabbing a cloak from near the pallet. The boy followed me like a lost puppy, but I was pushing him back before he had even passed the tent threshold.

I threw the cloak over his shoulders, and he met my eyes and ducked his head in a motion of gratitude before following as Count led us past a few tents and to the center of their camp. The men around us moved to break camp with practiced efficiency, but slowly. As if they knew they needed to be ready, but that they wouldn't actually be leaving any time soon. 

A large fire was set out, with a pot of what looked like cooked grains nearby. I could see a few of my men among the Akarans, but not many. I gestured to one of the lieutenants, Sanders, who ran over to me from where he had been eating with a handful of Akarans. 

After saluting me, Sanders stood at attention, his eyes never straying from mine, not even to stare down at the boy plastered to my waist.

"Find Aron and bring him to me," I ordered. The man saluted again before sprinting back towards our camp. When he was out of sight, I turned back to the boy, who was smiling gently at the sky again, staring up at where the faded moon was just beginning to lower below the eastern mountains. 

"Been a while since you've felt the sun?" I whispered, leaning into him and smiling when his body immediately relaxed against mine. I wrapped my arms around his hips, holding him to me, and marvelled at the fact that not only was this boy alright with being touched after what he had undoubtedly endured, but he craved it. Sought it out. 

And if I was to be the one to give him those platonic, affectionate touches he so obviously needed? Holding him against the warmth of my body so he wouldn't feel alone? None would ever hear me complain. 

We were served without qualms by the Akaran who seemed to be in charge of the breakfast, and I led the boy over to where many Akarans sat and ate. They watched us as if we were something fascinating, but none were hostile, so I sat on a fallen log, followed closely by the young man. 

Just before I dug into my first bite, Aron walked up with his usual sneer. Except with it directed at the boy at my side, I couldn't temper the rage I felt towards the petty, snide man. 

"Get everyone moved out asap, Aron," I growled, keeping my eyes on him so he could see my displeasure. "I'll be sending Sanders and Yansyn as captains, and they'll carry a letter explaining my absence to Queen Hestiel. They'll also keep an eye on you."

My words brought so much fury to Aron's eyes I regretted that I didn't have a sword at my waist. Though I was sure that in a hand-to-hand battle, I would win out any time he wanted to take me on. 

"Yes, sir," he said simply, before moving away stiffly, without a backwards glance or a salute towards my station. I sighed heavily and turned when I felt a small, warm hand on my thigh. 

The boy watched me with concern in his eyes, his bowl of porridge untouched on his lap. I smiled and shrugged. 

"He's not my problem anymore, thank Leba."

The boy's eyes showed his questions, and I mused at how easily I could read him, though he had yet to say a word. Was it because of the attraction, the near bond I felt for him, or was he simply an expressive man, unable to hide what he thought? Or not aware it was more normal to hide any emotions or thoughts and not allow them to flash so obviously across his eyes and face? The gods only knew how long he had been down in that dungeon, so they only knew how socially inept he may be. 

"Do you wonder why he isn't my concern, or who Leba is?" I asked, just to be sure I had read his expressive cues correctly. 

He made a little motion with his hand and shrugged, and I understood it to mean "both."

"The first is a bit of a tale, and the second isn't much better. To simplify: after this excursion to take down the Monster, I had planned to retire from the military, so now that my mission is complete, he is no longer something I need to worry about. As for the second: did no one teach you of the gods?"

The boy shook his head, and I grunted and nodded. I leaned forward and grabbed the spoon he had yet to touch in his bowl, putting it into his twisted, scarred, delicate hands, and motioning to his bowl. 

"Eat, and I'll tell you."

The boy smiled ruefully before turning to his porridge and scooping it up onto his spoon. The way he held the spoon in his clenched fist was awkward, almost childish. I caught him glancing at my spoon, then back to his own hand. He fixed the utensil in his fingers, holding it a little more delicately, before glancing back a few more times. Each time, he positioned the spoon just a little differently, but not exactly right. 

"Here," I said softly, reaching out to hold his hand and position the spoon. "Like you would hold a writing utensil."

He blushed, the red spreading across his pale skin like a wildfire, and I could see the shame in his eyes. I knew immediately without a doubt that he couldn't write. Likely couldn't read either. 

"That's alright," I murmured, fixing his fingers just a bit more before giving his hand a squeeze and pulling back. "Just like that. It's much easier and smoother."

The boy's eyes met mine, and I saw the gratitude mixed in with the embarrassment. 

"You're welcome. It's nothing to be ashamed of, sweetheart. It's not your fault." 

LLYRIC—

It may not have been my fault I couldn't do something as simple as hold a spoon or write, but that didn't make it any easier to bear the slight pity in Sage's eyes. The only reason I didn't get up and run in horror and embarrassment was because of the bits of pride for me I could also see there swimming in his depths. 

Pride for what, I didn't know, but it was there and it helped me calm just a bit. 

"Now, for the gods you were never taught," Sage began as I moved the spoon to my lips carefully, mindful not to spill. It was still a chore to open my mouth further than an inch or so, but my jaw was much less sore than it had been the day before. 

"It's interesting that, despite our abundance of difference— in culture, and values, and lifestyle, but El'kahr and Akar actually share our religion. It's funny that we hate each other so much and yet share our core beliefs. There are differences in our worship practices, of course. I know Akar worships Alma, goddess of creation and life with more devotion than they do her husband Leba. And we El'kahrians prefer Leba and their son Gaol, god of war, over Alma. But they are one and the same, just different values for different peoples."

I nodded, following his words closely. I had heard Father's guards calling upon the gods many times, but they had never before named a specific god.

"Would you like me to tell you a story of the gods? Of Gaol's brother, Enlin, son of Alma and Leba, who loved a human and lost his life for betrayal of that love? It's a tragedy, but has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it as a child. I couldn't tell you why."

I nodded, not even paying attention that I had finished my porridge, the thick but easily-swallowed paste easy for my jaw to chew despite its soreness from lack of use, until Sage got up to refill my bowl. I shook my head, patting my stomach to tell him I was full, but he shrugged.

"Humor me and eat, please," he said when he brought the food back. "You need to get your strength up."

I nodded reluctantly and took the bowl, letting the warmth seep through my palms. It was just as I put the first bite to my lips that I caught sight of Ember's hedge witch coming towards me with her medicine bag strapped across her back. What I had eaten soured in my stomach and I dropped the spoon.


	11. The Tragedy of the Sky God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Meet Galen, father-cousin to Geir (meaning his father and Geir's father are brothers). Galen will get his own story, but it will actually be in my Wild Magic series— Wild Magic Book Four to be exact :). Please remember, each story will be a standalone, so no need to read one to understand any others... Though to get the most enjoyment with all the Easter eggs and fun appearances I throw in, it's probably a good idea ;) That being said, there is one other book after Galen's story in the Wild Magic Series, then the two—Wild Magic and Far From Home— will be complete, and I'll start working on their crossover Strange Magics :):):):) *****

SAGE—

When the boy’s eyes widened, his fingers began to shake so hard he dropped his spoon back into his bowl, and his cheeks lost any color they had managed to procure in our small amount of time under the sun and with food in his belly, I jerked back and turned to see what had terrified him so. When I saw only the Akaran hedge witch, I frowned in confusion. 

The woman stopped right in front of us, chattering to us in Akari so fast I wouldn’t have been able to follow even if I had known more of the language. I helplessly raised my hands, shaking my head. 

“I’m sorry. My Akari is weak; I don’t understand.”

The woman paused in her words before turning to the boy and waving for him to follow her. He stood but only to cower behind my back, his fingers fisting in the back of my tunic. 

The woman chuckled and waved someone over. The man was young— maybe 20— with nearly six inches on my height. He was about my size, if just a bit bigger, and moved with a loping, graceful, but almost too-slow movement. His eyes were big in his round, childish face, and his dark skin shone in the sunlight with a sort of calming, gentle glow that drew me up short. 

The woman said something in Akari, and the man turned to me with a smile, gentle and almost sleepy. “My name’s Galen,” he said in accented El’kahrian. “Son of Telkin and Lamita, father-cousin to the Warlord Geir. Al’iya says you need a translator.”

“Yes, please,” I answered with a nod of my head. I could feel even the boy behind me begin to calm, his fists unclenching at my back. I had never met someone who exuded so much sleepy, peaceful calm with his presence alone. 

The woman began speaking in her rapid-fire, overwhelming way, but Galen simply stood before her, never flinching at the speed of her words. When she finished, he turned back to me, his eyes flickering for the first time to the boy at my back. 

“The young man hiding behind you wasn’t looked over last night, due to his more pressing injuries. She wishes to look him over, to ensure he gets the care he needs.”

I nodded again, but the boy behind me stiffened even more than he had before. I turned to him and he shook his head as I met his eyes. He refused to let go of my tunic, so I was left to awkwardly twist to look down at him. 

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? She won’t hurt you. She just needs to look you over, make sure there’s nothing wrong, and that we care for you properly.”

The boy shook his head again, but I could see the defeat in his eyes. For whatever reason, he didn’t want an exam, but he knew we were right in wanting to ensure his health. 

The woman led us back towards Ember’s tent, and after his rage-filled outburst, it took a lot of self-control to keep from asking if we could do the exam somewhere else. When I stopped in front of the tent flap to wait outside, the boy froze at the entrance, turning back to me with wide, terrified eyes. He made a noise in the back of his throat, somewhere between a whine and a gasp, and yanked on my arms to pull me forward. I looked up at the hedge witch, who eyed me for a moment before nodding.

The boy led me down into Ember’s tent with a grip of steel, the woman following close behind. 

“I’ll stay out here, but I can hear you, so just talk loud and I’ll translate,” Galen said from the tent entrance. He let the flap down, shutting us into the semi-dark of the tent, before I heard shuffling that told me he was sitting just outside the entrance. 

The woman said something, motioning to the boy as she set her medicine bag down near the bed furs, and Galen said, “Take off your clothes.”

The boy obeyed, slowly and reluctantly, one of his hands constantly on my arm for comfort. I tried to keep my eyes away, but they managed to flicker back to his naked skin over and over despite my wanting to give the boy his privacy. 

Gods, I was going to be thrown into the deepest pits of hell for my attraction to him.

Al’iya motioned for the boy to sit back on the furs, and he dragged me down with him. I knelt beside the furs, watching as the woman began rifling in her bag after setting up a handful of faer lights so she could see her work. The sun shone through the tent decently enough to see clearly, but she would need the extra light to examine the boy’s wounds and the state of his body. 

The woman was pretty in an off-set, non-conventional way. She was maybe Ember’s age, in her mid-to-late-twenties, and had deep black hair so dark it shone blue when the sun hit it just right. It hung freely in curling, thick ringlets down her back, pooling on the ground as she knelt in front of the boy. She was light-skinned, but her slanted, almond eyes and full, honey-kissed lips were all Akaran. Her body was shaped like a perfect hourglass, with full, wide hips, a thin, trimmed waist, and breasts that threatened to rip through the buttons on her blouse. 

“She’s going to touch the boy, feel around for bones out of place,” Galen called from outside the tent, after Al’iya had begun to speak. “Have the boy squeeze your hand or some other sign if he feels pain.”

I looked to the boy to make sure he understood, and he squeezed my hand with a nod. I motioned at the woman, and she moved to begin. The boy was tense beside me, more so than I had ever felt him, and his body trembled. The woman muttered as she worked, but it must have not been important, or only speaking to herself, because Galen didn’t translate until she asked the boy to lie on his back. 

I shifted with him, kneeling near his head, and he looked up at me, stark terror in his eyes. 

“Want that story now?” I whispered as the woman worked, and the relief and embarrassment in the boy’s eyes made me want to lean down and kiss his lips, stretched thin with stress and fear. 

“When time began, there was chaos and there was darkness,” I whispered, brushing strands of hair from his face. “The god Leba and his wife Alma lived in peace for millennia, content in their own love and happy to spend their existence in each other’s arms. But there came a time when Alma wanted a child, and so they began to try for a child. For time unnumbered, they attempted to impregnate Alma, but they were unsuccessful. In her loneliness, Alma created the heavens, and filled it with brother and sister gods and goddesses, whom she formed out of the chaos and the darkness around her. They filled her with joy, and she called them sons and daughters, but they were not a child of her own. Not one of her blood, and the blood of her husband. And this she craved. 

“So she created the world, and filled it with animals, and trees, and plants, and water, and air, and she filled the skies with stars, and the seas with the monsters of the deep. And for each of these, she gave to the gods and goddesses she had created. To Daki, goddess of the deep, she gave the waters of the earth— sea and fresh, puddle and ocean. 

“To Bandrin, god of the high places and the deep places, she gave the mountains and the caves beneath them.

“To Gaol, god of war, she gave the strength of battle and the violence of death. 

“And so on, through each of the new creations she made to fill the ache in her heart. 

“Seeing her loneliness, and hurting for it, Leba, her husband, took in her creations, borrowed a bit of each of the gods his wife had made of her own hands, mixed them all together, and out came the first man and the first woman. He gave them to his wife, and she loved them as her own and cherished their devotion to her. 

“And then, just when they had almost given up on their hopes for a child of their power and their flesh combined, Alma began to grow heavy with child.”

The boy made a little noise, and I couldn’t tell if it was happiness at the gods’ joy, or distress from the touch of the woman’s hands on his body. She had begun to clean the bondage wounds on his ankles and wrists, readying to bandage them. Her movements were gentle but efficient, but I could understand how someone who had endured the torture the boy had would hate the feel of another’s hands on his skin. 

It made me wonder anew at the way he clung to both me and Ember so fervently. What made us different to the woman who handled him so gently?

“They rejoiced, and the world rejoiced with them,” I continued, drawing the boy’s eyes to mine again. “When the child was born, he was a pillar of hope and love for the gods and goddesses who would now serve him as his court, for their prince was born. 

“The child was beautiful and wise and loving. He grew to be fair of face and strong of morals. He was merciful and kind and loved the humans beneath the heavens as much as his siblings, the gods who shone by his side. His mother and father named him Enlin, god of the sky, so he would rule over all.”

Al’iya asked something in Akari as she finished up the boy’s bandages, and Galen answered in Akari, then said in El’kahrian, “She asked what you were speaking. I told her it was the tragedy of Gaol’s brother. Also,” he continued as the woman said something else, “Please turn the boy onto his stomach.”

The boy moved almost sluggishly, and I was glad my story seemed to be calming him somewhat. When he had settled and Al’iya was moving about again, I finished the story.

“Enlin met a young prince named Naviir one day when he was near one of his mother’s temples, and immediately fell in love with him. The prince was a third son, and so would never see the throne of his father. He carried a bitterness inside of him that Enlin never sensed. The human seduced Enlin, and before long the young god had let his defenses down around the human. 

“Taking advantage, and wanting glory and power, near mad with jealousy of his brothers, Naviir stabbed the gentle god with a god-killing blade and took his life from him, and from the world.

“The moment Enlin’s soul vacated his body, his mother doubled over in pain, his father cried out, and the entire heavenly host fell to their knees in horror. The earth quaked, and many humans died that day for the mourning of the gods. 

“The god Gaol, brother to Enlin and god of war and violence, swore vengeance and tracked down the evil Naviir. He cursed him, a curse that is called the Unnamed Curse, for none know what it did to the jealous Naviir, or what he undoubtedly still endures to this day.”

I stopped and glanced back at Al’iya when I noticed the boy’s heavy flinch. She had a frown of confusion on her face as she pulled the boy’s ass cheeks apart, her fingers gently dabbing at his crack. 

I had the sudden, near-overwhelming urge to shove the woman up and away from the boy’s most sensitive places, but I held myself back. I gripped the boy’s hands tighter, meeting his eyes again with a hopefully calming smile. 

His eyes showed his questions about my story, and I shrugged. “That’s the end, really. Alma mourns her lost son always, but every once in a while her tears leak from the heavens in the form of rain, or hail, or deeply cold snow. And Leba nearly retreated from all life, and is never seen, even in his own temples. 

“The god Gaol aided the mourning parents through their grief, and is now favored among the heavens, and rules the gods and the earth in the stead of his grateful parents.”

Just as I finished my story, Al’iya pulled away and gently patted the boy’s arm to signal he could sit up. He pulled himself up, his hands resting over his prick to cover it, and the woman stood after gathering her supplies. 

I helped the boy dress back into Ember’s oversized shirt and cloak, finding a pair of Ember’s leggings and helping the boy into them. I had to tie the strings of the leggings around the boy’s waist three times so they wouldn’t fall down and roll up them up at the ankle nearly seven times before he wasn’t tripping on them, but it was better than nakedness. Then I led him out into the bright sunlight. The examination had taken half an hour, and in that time the entire camp had been thrown onto the backs of pack mules and horses. Ember’s tent was the only one left standing, and as we moved away from it, a handful of men stepped behind us and began to tear it down. 

Ember stood a ways off, helping the rescued children into a cart where Brin stood to lift them from his arms. As Al’iya moved to the man, he handed up the last child and turned to face us. 

“The boy has been severely abused,” Galen translated from her side as Al’iya spoke directly to Ember. “Severely. He has bones that barely healed before they were broken again, skin that has scars on top of scars atop scars. He’s nearly 30% scar tissue.”

The woman paused and glanced back at the boy before continuing, Galen always just a few words behind. Her words had me clutching the boy so tightly to me, I worried I would hurt him. But he only clung to me, his face dug into my stomach, as the hedge witch laid out his pain. 

“But unlike any of the other children, this boy hasn’t been sexually assaulted. Not recently, at least. And due to the lack of scar tissue around his anus, I’d say not ever.”

Ember’s eyebrows rose at the same time my own did, as both he and I turned to the boy. 

If he was in the Monster’s home since he was a child— which we knew due to the jaw bindings having embedded into his skin since he was young— how had he been left untouched by the Monster’s evil lusts? And why was he tortured the way none of the other children had been? The others had been kept in relative luxury, fed to keep them fat, groomed to keep them ready for him. But this boy was found covered in filth in what amounted to a deep hole, and tortured so badly the healer’s face had blanched as she had stressed the severity of the violence inflicted on his body. 

So what was different about this boy?


	12. Suffering

LLYRIC—

Sage's touch and his deep, grumbly voice kept me as calm and comfortable as could be expected as the woman with healing magic in her palms and her fingers poked and prodded at me, bandaged what was still a wound, and rubbed at what was healed over scars. Her touch hurt only a few times, but my skin felt as if it was on fire just from the simple touches. It was as if my entire being, so unused to touch, repelled the heat of her skin on mine. 

It was so much the opposite of how my body sang when I was held or touched by Ember or Sage. 

When the healer had spoken her words to my men, I feared they would begin to guess. To know that not only was I the product of what an evil man had done to an innocent child, but that due to some twist of fate I didn't understand, I had been given a power to keep him from doing the same to me. Thus putting so many other children under his cruel fist. 

I prayed to the gods I had only just learned the names of, that I would be allowed just a bit of time with my men before they found out about the evil in my blood. Before their pure souls were forced to excise me from them like the dirty, evil soul I knew they would think me to be. 

"Has he told his name?" Ember asked, never looking my way as Al'iya shook her head and turned to me. "Can you speak your name, _ninya_?" he asked, finally turning to meet my eyes. But rather than the warmth and the caring I'd seen directed at me in them before, I now saw only the cold, hard lines of a warrior. A leader. An Akaran barbarian Chief. 

I shook my head, the only answer I had to give, and Ember's eyes grew colder, somehow. 

"You can't or you won't?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Sage cut in, crossing his arms and pulling away enough to step just a little in front of me. I put my hand on his arm and shook my head at him. I didn't want to come between my men. We weren't supposed to be like this. We were meant to fit perfectly into each other's arms, and share the very breath we breathed. Not argue over silly things like culture or country. 

Surprisingly, Ember noted Sage's reaction and stepped down, his stance folding just a bit. 

"Your men are leaving, Captain. You should join them."

"I had planned to follow you back to your tribe. Make sure the children are cared for, placed in safe homes, before returning home."

"That was _not_ part of the agreement."

Sage nodded and shrugged. "It is now," he stated simply, solidly, no argument or vitriol in his tone. "Especially the boy. He's old enough that finding a home will be difficult, at best. I want to stay until I can at least be sure he's safe."

" _I'll_ ensure his safety. That was the agreement between your Queen and our Warlord. There doesn't need to be any further collusion between us."

"This is about more than agreements and politics to me. It's disappointing to me that it isn't the same for you."

Ember bristled, his eyes flickering to me fleetingly before he finally gave in and nodded briskly. 

"Fine. Come if you must. But I am Chief, Captain. You are not in charge of me or my men. You will follow any orders I give, without question, as if I am one of your generals. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Sage grunted, near rolling his eyes. I wanted to step between them again, the way I had last night, but I feared Ember's heady animosity. 

"Good. The boy can ride with you, or he can ride in the cart with the children, Al'iya, and Brin. Let's go."

I flinched that the option to stay with Ember hadn't crossed his lips; likely hadn't even crossed his mind. And shrunk back even further when the eldest of the rescued children called out from within the cart they all had been placed in. 

"Llyric," he said, firmly and with just enough of an edge that I knew he knew. He knew what I was, if not who. He knew I was the reason for a lot of his pain. He was Father's punching dummy, a replacement for me. And he knew. How, I could only guess, and the thoughts made me want to be sick all over the hard-packed earth. 

The group of Akarans and one El'kahrian turned to the boy, making him shy back just a bit. But his eyes never left me, and his vindictive, hate filled voice spoke up again, even harder than before. 

"His name. It's Llyric. Nanny, the servant who cared for us, talked about him sometimes. As did the guards. Also, Fa—" he stopped mid-word, bit his lip, and pushed on. "Lord Butcger," he corrected himself, "sometimes called me Llyric when he fucked me."

EMBER—

None of us spoke a word, but the sound the no-longer-nameless boy made ate at my very soul. It was nearly primal, as if the boy, Tristan, had slit his throat and left him to bleed out. Sage turned and met the boy's— Llyric's— eyes, and his smile was far gentler and softer than any I could have managed. 

"Llyric? That's your name, sweet boy?"

Tristan snorted in anger at the kind words, making Llyric flinch, but he nodded and shrugged, making a careless, accepting gesture. 

"We need to be going," I ordered, turning on my heel and trying to put the men out of my mind. 

I had to stop obsessing over them. I couldn't accept them. Before long, Sage would bring Llyric home to wherever it was the man lived in El'kahr, and they would leave me in peace. But for now, I needed to go along with what had been planned— bringing the children home and helping them heal. 

Although more and more I wondered if Llyric was one of the Monster's children, or if he was something else altogether. 

I heard Sage speaking softly to Llyric as I ordered my men to begin moving out. He helped the boy up and into the cart, where Brin gestured to an open spot atop a pile of blankets. When Sage moved away from the cart, back towards where his men had been camped, Llyric's eyes kept on him until flickering to me. 

He watched me, his expression confused, sad, hesitant, afraid. 

Afraid. Of me. 

_Gods I'm such an asshole._

I moved away from the cart, ignoring the way he whimpered at both my and Sage's absence, and stalked Sage back to where a few of his men were just starting out back to Veil. He began issuing orders to the handful of remaining men, and I had to admire the way they moved without question, showing him the respect he seemed to demand simply by existing. These men treated him very differently than the man— Aron— I had seen who had disrespected him at every turn the night before. 

When he noticed me watching him, he paused for a moment, his eyes flickering behind me, as if to search out whom I had with me. When he saw no one, he ignored me and took the scroll missive one of his men handed him. 

As he took out a quill and inkwell, kneeling to write against the ground, his men stood around him respectfully, waiting for him to finish his edits to the letter. 

"I'm letting the queen know why I'm not returning. It had never been my intention— court life never was for me. But I'm letting her know about returning to Akar with you."

"Why are you? — coming to Akar? You and I both know your excuse was bullshit. You know I'll care for the kids as if they were my own."

"Even the El'kahrians?" he asked snidely.

I chose to ignore his pointed words and stepped forward. He looked up at me, then around at his men. His look was all they needed before they retreated a polite distance so we could talk in semi-privacy. 

"Tell me the truth, Captain."

"Would it kill you to say my name? Just once?"

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath in, then out, trying to steady myself. "Sage, tell me. Please."

"I can't explain it. But I think we both feel it, so I don't believe I need to explain anything."

"You feel a kind of bond, a connection with the boy?" I asked quietly, unsure why I was even asking. I knew the answers. But I wanted to know Sage's view of it. To know I wasn't completely crazy for the overwhelming emotions he and the boy were forcing on me.

 

"It's wrong, but yes. I've never... I've never felt anything like this before. And it's not just towards him and you know it." 

Sage's blush made me want to wrap him up and kiss his entire body until he begged me for mercy, but I clenched my fists around the reins of my horse and shook my head to clear it. 

"How could a fated connection be wrong?" I asked near incredulously. I was such a hypocrite, condemning him for his confusion of something his people didn't understand, while I myself denied that very same connection. 

"He's a child. He doesn't understand. He's been hurt, and I would just be taking advantage of him."

"That boy is anything but a child, in more ways than just the years of his life on Nefiir," I growled as he stood, rolled the scroll back up, and faced me. His face was red with embarrassment, but he stood squarely, bravely facing me down. "Even you must sense it, magic-less El'kahrian blood and all— he has a wisdom in him many double his age don't carry. I think you should give him more credit than to assume he can't think for himself or make his own decisions. In fact, I think it's about damn time he's allowed some freedom to do just that."

"You speak very passionately for someone who hates him simply for the blood in his veins."

I froze, taken aback by the almost nonchalant way the captain had pointed out my own hypocrisy. While I fell silent, Sage motioned for his men, who took his scroll, handed the reins for a stallion to him, saluted, and moved off. They all mounted their horses, kicking them into motion as I tried to swallow the tightness in my throat back. 

"You know nothing," I finally whispered when he turned back to face me. "You don't know the men and women, family, friends, lovers your people have killed for nothing. For greed. For selfishness."

"I don't. I don't understand, because how could I?" he said gently, empathetically, and the calm way he approached my fury made my rage deepen. "You can punish me for the sins of my people as much as you need if you think that will help you to heal from the wrongs we have committed. But you don't hurt that sweet boy. He's suffered enough for ten lifetimes."


	13. The Healing Power of Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Alone by I Prevail. Go listen ;) *****

SAGE— 

It took but a moment to edit the letter I had already written to send to Queen Hestiel. I hadn't ever planned on going back to Veil, since my family's farm was only a day's ride north, just near the Akar border. So I only had to add that I was travelling to Akar for a few weeks before returning to my family farm. 

When I left Ember behind, stewing in his anger and deep hypocrisy, — gods the man had a temper— I easily caught up to the cart where the children huddled together. My irritated, frustrated mood lifted immediately at the sight that met my eyes. 

Llyric sat with his legs crossed beneath him, Ember's cloak wrapped around him like a large blanket. The youngest children— the twins— sat in his lap, held to his chest as he hummed a joyful, lilting tune. The other boy, Kye, had his thumb in his mouth as he curled up against Llyric's thigh, his other hand fisted against Llyric's leg. The sound of Llyric's humming was beautiful and danced against my skin like lightning, making the little hairs in my arms and the back of my neck stand on end. 

When he caught sight of me his eyes lit up, but he didn't pause in his singing. Then he was flinching heavily when Brin moved forward, taking the young Jude, deeply asleep, from his arms. Her hands brushed against Llyric in pulling the boy up out of his arms, and I could nearly see the battle he had with himself not to jump up and throw the children off his lap to get away from her touch. She made a soft-throated shushing noise, and I couldn't tell if it was towards Llyric or the children who stirred a bit when she pulled them away to sleep in the makeshift bed they had set up on the side of the cart. 

When Brin had brought the sleeping twins to the little pallet of furs, Llyric pulled Kye up and into his arms gently, so careful of him it made something in my chest tighten. He held and rocked him, his humming turning soft, sleepy, and before long the boy was also asleep in his arms. When Brin came back to get him, Llyric shook his head and smiled up at her. She nodded and moved back to Bek, whom she pulled tightly to her chest. He sleepily reached out to her and wrapped his arms around her as she sat. 

By noon, we had travelled half the distance we should have. I felt as if we stopped every hour for one of the children to pee, and when Ember finally gave Brin and Al'iya a bowl and demanded they use that instead, he was met with an angry glare and harsh Akari words from both women. I couldn't understand the words, but I could take a guess at their contents. 

I stayed out of the argument, simply smiling in amusement and sharing a look with Llyric as Ember raised his palms in surrender and backed away from the women. Needless to say, we sped up not at all; though Ember did send a few of his men ahead back home, keeping only enough to keep the children safe. 

The twins slept often, but when they were awake, they were joyful, loud bundles of energy. Al'iya watched them with eyes like a hawk, assessing, studying them. They moved from talking gibberish to each other, to chattering the ears off of both women in Akari, before moving to crawl all over Llyric. He endured their little feet digging into tender places with a few grimaces, their tiny fingers tracing his various scars and bandages, but his gentle smile never wavered. Each time they grew tired again, he would hold them tight, sway back and forth, and sing them to sleep with the voice of an angel.

Gods I wanted to hear his voice. Hear him say my name. 

Kye stayed near Llyric through the entire day until we stopped for lunch. Even while he slept, Llyric held the boy to him, comforting him, rubbing his hands up and down his back. He too fingered and petted Llyric's scars, as if testing the feel of them, but Llyric never complained and even moved his arm so the child could follow a scar he had traced from his shoulder. 

Through the day, Tristan watched Llyric with resentful, spiteful eyes. But he never moved from across the cart, despite Llyric's obvious welcome. Bek kept to Brin, except when Count or Fern would ride by and scoop him up on their horses to take him riding for a few hours. He always came back giggling, wide-eyed and breathless. 

Tristan's glower grew darker each time. 

LLYRIC—

Ember brought me and Sage lunch when we stopped to eat. The sun was high in the sky, burning my skin and making me cringe at the brightness. My eyes still watered at the light of the day after so long in the dark, beneath the stones, trying to adjust to this new normal, but I reveled in it. I was free— free of the darkness, the pain, and the degradations that had haunted my entire life. 

As free as I could ever be, at least. For I had come to a realization that made me acknowledge how little time I had. 

Sage and Ember would discover who I was. That was made abundantly clear to me when Tristan named me, telling my men of the evils my father had inflicted on him while calling him my name. 

How dare he? How dare he take a child's innocence, while forcing him to degrade himself by calling him what should be a title given with respect and love? How dare he use the name my mother gave me to taunt and torture children?

 _How_ dare _he?_

"Hey, hey, hey," Ember said from a little ways from the cart, his eyes jumping from my eyes to my clenched fists and back again. "Shhh, _da'rin_. Everything's alright now."

I stared at him, wanting to scream, vent, rage. _Nothing's alright! Nothing's ever going to be alright! You're going to find out! You're going to learn of the evil in my blood, and you're going to hate me even more than you do now!_

But I only shrugged and turned away, stepping down out of the cart and tugging Ember's cloak around me. I brought it up and around my face, digging my nose into the soft wool and taking a deep, bracing breath. 

Calming the children had taken more out of me than I had thought it would. I had used my power only a few times in my life, and very rarely intentionally. However, the moment I had held the male twin Jude in my arms, followed immediately by his sister, I knew I had to try. They deserved a chance at a normal life. And if my power, my song, could do that for them? How could I not? 

I couldn't take away their memories, or even fully the bad things they felt about their past. But I could lessen the feelings, help them confront them, soothe them so they knew they were truly _in the past_. Put them on the level they belonged, rather than letting them overwhelm them and take over their lives. 

To pull the children's fear and shame from them and into myself had been... exhausting. More so than I had bargained for. And so I was left stumbling when I dropped down out of the cart, and was caught by a gruff Ember, who put me on my feet so quickly I almost fell again. 

"Careful, _da'rin_."

Al'iya moved towards us then and I deliberately pulled myself away from Ember. I could see the hurt in his eyes at my action as the healer began to talk to him, but I couldn't care. I needed to learn to control my power better because the emotions around me were beginning to overwhelm me to the point I barely knew how _I_ felt. I couldn't stop feeling Tristan's jealousy and deep hatred and even darker shame, Bek's fear of abandonment by his new family if they found out how dirty he felt he really was, Ember's resentment and confusion, Sage's rage at Ember's treatment of me, and Al'iya's... burgeoning understanding?

I turned to her, meeting her eyes as both she and Ember studied me. 

Kye stumbled over and pulled himself up into my lap, his thumb in his mouth, scooting his butt until he was comfortably leaning back against me. 

"You seem to have gained a loyal little brother," Sage said with a chuckle, taking my plate so I could position the boy better. I returned his smile and turned, ignoring Al'iya and Ember's watchful eyes.

EMBER— 

" _That boy's magic is... unusual._ " Al'iya began, pulling me from the confused hurt I had been stewing in from Llyric retreating from me. When only this morning he couldn't stop touching me. 

_And that's nothing but your fault, you asshole_ , I chided myself. 

" _What do you mean_?"

" _He's... he's not healing the children, not physically, but..._ " She paused, as if gathering her words, before continuing with a sigh. " _You've heard him singing?_ "

" _I have. His voice is..._ "

" _Haunting? Alluring? Absolutely beautiful? That's because it's filled with magic. He's putting a sort of healing trance on the youngest— Jude and Harley and Kye. Bek won't leave Brin, Fern, or Count's arms, and the eldest, Tristan, needed to be held down and sedated when I examined him to treat him. He's aggressive and in pain. He won't go near any of us. But I wish he would let Llyric help him— he needs it the most._ "

" _Tristan's not a danger to the other children, is he?_ " I asked, my eyes studying the boy who did seem to hold himself as far away from the others as possible. 

" _I don't think so, no. He's hurt, and afraid. He needs time and patience._ "

I nodded before asking, " _What do you think of Llyric? Of a boy who has been under the Monster's thumb since he was a child, but only ever tortured mercilessly, never sexually assaulted? He was treated so differently from the other children— why_?"

" _I don't know, Chief, but that too, I think, will come with time and patience. I can tell you two things: the boy knows the reason. He knows, and he's_ terrified _of you finding out. And two: the bond between you, Llyric, and Sage is one of the strongest mate bonds I've ever witnessed. Stop being a bigoted asshole and woo your mates, or you're going to lose them both_."

" _I want nothing to do with the mate bond to not one, but two El'kahrians, witch_ ," I grumbled, making Al'iya roll her eyes. 

" _You act as if none of us know what you call him. You try to hide it by calling him 'boy', but you've let 'da'rin' slip plenty of times. He may not know that 'da'rin' means 'sweetheart', but the rest of us do_."

I grunted a noncommittal answer, making Al'iya huff and turn from me. 

" _You're as stubborn as your father, may the asshole rest in peace. Fine. Lose the deepest, purest love you'll ever know. But don't come crying to me when you realize what you've done_."

She stepped away from me without another word, moving to Tristan. They were an odd pair— the 23-year-old Akaran hedge witch who spoke not a word of El'kahrian, and the 13-year-old El'kahrian boy who seemed to not understand a lick of Akari. But somehow they communicated and he followed her to get a plate. 

The moment they could, my eyes flickered to Sage and Llyric, who were both staring me down. My shame was heady as I avoided their eyes and ducked back behind the cart, all but running from Llyric's hurt and Sage's accusing glare.


	14. Drawn Swords

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****I freaking love Al'iya. Is it weird to love your own character? Because I love her. She's such a take-no-shit badass. 
> 
> Anywho, enjoy :) *****

LLYRIC— 

Our travels after lunch were no faster than before. Not only did the children have to stop frequently, but the cart was slower than it could have been if the drivers weren't worried about bruising the kids with its bumps and turns. I could tell it irritated Ember, but Sage seemed amused by his frustration, and even poked at it with snide, biting remarks every time Ember rode by us. 

I wondered if Sage had noticed, as I had, how Ember rode by us frequently. Much more than he needed to. The action gave me just a bit of hope for our bond. Hope I knew was folly, for I would be abandoned, or worse, once they knew my secret. But it was something to hold onto.

I kept up my singing as we travelled, hoping to lure Bek and Tristan in, but neither would come near me. Bek because he had enough love and affection from his newly adopted parents, and Tristan because he suspected what I was and hated me for it. 

Just before we stopped for the night, Brin and Al'iya had a hurried conversation in their husky language, their eyes pointedly not on me. I watched them, confused, before Brin stood with the sleeping Bek in her arms and moved towards me. 

_Ah, Al'iya understands_ , I thought as Brin sat right next to me, letting the boy's sleeping body press up against my own. I didn't understand my power fully, and had never really had a chance to work it and practice using it, especially to heal, but I knew that without the words that would bring my song more weight and power, I needed the skin contact to fully let my gift flow. Without words, I could still sing and weave the children's emotions into something resembling what a child's should be, but without touch it wouldn't hold. The skin contact was like the glue that held my song inside the children's souls. 

I began to sing, rocking and closing my eyes as the boy at my side's confusion and anguish began to rush through me. Maybe it was that he was older, had suffered for longer than the younger children, but there was something about Bek's pain that took more out of me than all three of the younger children combined. 

My song faltered and I slumped back, tears filling my eyes at the depths of his pain. 

"Shh," Al'iya murmured from by my side, her hands stroking my arms in a soothing gesture. I let my head fall back, trying to find comfort in her touch, but all it did was set me on edge. 

She must have sensed something, for she soon pulled away and I was left to calm myself in my own peace. 

When we stopped for the night, I sat at the edge of the cart, my legs dangling down, too afraid to try to jump down for fear my legs would give out on me, but too filled with silly pride to ask for help. I was already helpless enough, and now I might not have the strength to walk? 

Before I could pity myself for too long, Sage was standing between my legs, his smile warm and teasing, his hands going around my hips. He crowded me back against the cart and I instinctively wrapped my legs around him, my feet managing to hook above his ass and hold him tight to my body. 

"You need help, sweet boy?" 

I nodded with a smile, but then snagged him back when he tried to pull away and lift me to the ground. I was plenty happy right where I was, wrapped around his big body, his heat seeming to seep into my skin and warming me all the way through. 

His laugh vibrated through me and we held each other, with my head resting against his warm, steadily rising and falling chest, until we were interrupted with a man's amused cough. 

"Dinner's ready now," Galen said, chuckling as he looked us up and down before mumbling something in Akari and turning away. 

Sage pulled back, his eyes gentle and deep with longing as he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. The spot where his hot lips hit my skin burned, tingling in a way I wanted to sink into. 

"C'mon, sweet boy. Let's eat. I'm far too big to go this long without food."

I chuckled and reluctantly unlocked my legs, letting him lift me to my feet. I staggered a bit, having to hold onto his forearms to keep myself up as my knees threatened to buckle, but I smiled past his concern. 

I was fine, and I would sing for Bek at least once more. Though I now dreaded doing the same for Tristan. If Bek, at maybe eight-years-old, had exhausted me with his pain, I couldn't even imagine the emotions and nightmares Tristan had buried. 

After dinner, of which I ate as little as I could get away with, with Sage's eyes so intent on me, my jaw aching with each chew, Sage set up his tent and the bedroll in it. He borrowed a blanket from Galen so he could roll his saddle blankets out and he and I could share his bedroll. I was glad he was willing to let me sleep by his side without my having to fight for it, but my heart twisted when I didn't see Ember all night. 

When I finally caught a glimpse of him, weaving through the camp, moving from group to group to help set up tents and feed horses and pack up supplies so they would be ready in the morning, he refused to meet my eyes. I could sense he was aware of me, his shoulders tense, but he stubbornly kept his eyes off of both me and Sage. 

SAGE— 

I lost track of Llyric for only a moment, and when I caught sight of him again, he was standing in front of Ember with a fierce determination darkening his expression. He reached out, put his hand on the man's chest, then pointed back at me. 

No. At my tent. 

He wanted him to sleep with us. 

Ember's eyes flashed but he shook his head, gently pried the boy's hand off of his chest, and turned away coldly. 

I wanted to rip him apart for the hurt look in Llyric's eyes as he retreated back to me, but I kept the anger from my hands as I wrapped my arms around his shaking shoulders. His little sobs had my chest in a vice. 

"C'mon, sweet boy," I whispered, my lips pressed against his hair. "Let's get some sleep. You're exhausted, so everything is amplified. You'll feel better in the morning."

"Don't you _fucking touch me_!" a voice screamed, high-pitched with terror. The three littlest children began to cry, all three jumping up from around Al'iya to run to Llyric. He knelt to catch them, his arms wide as they dived into him and dug their faces into his skin. Bek, a few feet back, on Fern's lap and surrounded by Brin and Count, dug himself into Fern's neck. His body shook so hard it was near violent. 

I looked over, recognizing Tristan's voice even though it had been so terrified it had been more like a drawn-out scream. The boy stood with his back to one of the tents, his hands up in front of his face as if to block a blow, his eyes flashing with terror and desperation. Galen and three of the men I hadn't met yet stood around the boy, their own hands up, but in a placating, calming gesture. Galen made a soothing noise, shushing the boy, which only seemed to enrage him even further. 

"Tristan!" Al'iya yelled, sharp and demanding. The boy's hands went down immediately, and he met the woman's eyes as she rounded on him. She began chattering in Akari, even though Tristan couldn't understand a word of it. But when she leaned forward and took his hand, trying to soothe him and gently guide him away, his body tensed back up. 

I wanted to call out, warn her of the coming blow, but I was too late. A _crack!_ sounded through the camp, followed by the sound of a dozen swords being drawn. 

EMBER—

" _You stupid men, put your swords back where they belong. This is a child. A terrified, traumatized, brutalized_ child." Al'iya's voice was harsh, filled with a deep annoyance and frustration. 

" _He harms an Akaran at his own peril,_ " Wyren hissed from beside Galen, who was the only one of my men not to draw his sword at the sound of the boy's hand hitting Al'iya's cheek. 

My own sword hung heavy and ready in my hand. 

" _You don't put your sword away, I'll put isteris into your food, Ren_ ," Al'iya snapped back, making Wyren, and every other man who had their sword out flinch and step back. Isteris was an herb that healed the pox if mixed with other healing herbs... and caused erectile dysfunction if administered on its own. 

" _What happened_?" I called, trying to ignore the way I could feel Sage and Llyric's gazes on my skin. 

" _The boy tripped, Chief_ ," Galen began, turning to me with shame in his eyes. " _I caught him and pulled him back from the fire. But he didn't like that much_."

I could see three long, thin scratches down his forearm, one deep enough to bleed lightly. When he caught sight of where my attention had gone, he shrugged sheepishly. 

" _I'll heal just fine, Chief. Don't worry about that, please. It's nothing_."

I turned my attention back to the boy, who was staring wide-eyed and horrified at a stoic Al'iya. She held his gaze, no anger or recrimination in her eyes, only empathy and a stern kind of kindness. 

"I'm..." the boy began, before tears began to leak from his eyes and he fell to his knees. Al'iya moved with him, her hands folded on her lap, her gaze never wavering. "I'm so sorry. I didn't... I'm sorry. Please, someone tell her! Someone..."

"She understands your remorse, Tristan," I said. "That needs no translation." The boy looked up at me for only a moment before turning back to the hedge witch. 

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, looking her directly in the eye. The woman held her arms out, and without hesitation he fell into them. She cuddled him for a moment, then dragged him up and pulled the child into her tent, sobbing against her neck the entire way.


	15. Tristan

SAGE— 

I woke with Llyric wrapped completely around me. His hands were dug down between my thighs— not sexually, but for warmth. Even knowing that, my body reacted and I was soon panting down at him. The night before, he had been so exhausted from the travels he had fallen into the blankets, waited until I moved in next to him, and fallen asleep curled up against my side within minutes. There was no cuddling or temptation. I had been tired from the hours in the saddle, so I too had fallen to sleep fairly quickly, with his little breaths to lull me to my dreams. 

I began to pull away, trying to move gently so he wouldn't wake, but he made a little chuffing, whimpering noise that drew me to a halt. He dug his face into my neck and I relaxed back, resigned to being stuck that way, in absolute uncomfortable agony, until he woke. That was, until I felt a brush of his teeth along my pulse point, making my cock jump. 

I jerked and then huffed in frustration at my own lack of self-control when it came to this man. 

"Sweet boy," I whispered, making him whimper and dig himself further into my body, seeking my warmth. "It's time to wake. C'mon."

I dragged him up and out of the pallet, chuckling as he stayed limp and whining, his voice cracking from disuse with even the little noises. The fact that he could make noise brought me hope, for it told me that he likely _could_ speak, when he chose to. 

We broke camp and set out just as the sun began to crest above the horizon. Ember said not a word to either me or Llyric, but even I noticed the care he showed when he brought the both of us bowls of porridge. He brushed it off as something he did nonchalantly, but Llyric and I exchanged a glance when he proceeded to sit and eat without showing anyone else the same care. 

Most of the day brought the same behavior from Ember. I stayed near the cart Llyric rode in with Brin, Al'iya, and the children. I would rather he rode with me, but my stallion's endurance aside, Llyric's body was still weak enough to warrant riding in the cart. I also liked that he was near the Akaran healer, so she could ensure he was resting and healing as he should be. 

I could tell Al'iya had the same concerns regarding Llyric I did. He didn't act the way the children did, and not in a good way that showed he was maybe not as traumatized as they were. He let them crawl all over him, never getting upset when they put their feet or bony elbows into sensitive places, and rocked them to sleep through their naps. But if anyone but the children or I and Ember neared him, he flinched heavily and shrank back. He hated to be touched as much as Tristan, but there was something about the way he seemed to almost zone out when touched that worried me.Tristan at least reacted, while Llyric seemed to pull into himself and almost _endure_ the touch, though he hated it. 

Both of the nights he slept in my arms, he never woke once. As if just the skin-to-skin contact kept his nightmares at bay. But he woke screaming from a nap around midmorning, and his terrified shaking didn't calm for hours. 

His discomfort under the sun was also painfully obvious. I was grateful the cart was covered, for whenever he had to leave the shade he flinched and squinted and his delicate, pale skin was already burned red from what little sun he had endured. It made it apparent he hadn't been out of that damn dungeon in years. I feared knowing for sure how long. 

His other differences from the children were marked— specifically in his mannerisms. The children had been abused, yes, but in the dark of night, hidden and in secret. The rest of the time, they'd had nannies, tutors, three meals a day, laughter, playtime in the sun. They were healthy, if only on the surface. They had social interactions with each other, the adults set to care for them. 

Llyric was awkward, didn't know how to act or react to things I had never even considered. Like his difficulty eating with utensils. His complete disregard for nudity or personal space. The first time we stopped for a break, he had begun to relieve himself right outside the cart. I'd had to grab his arm and lead him back behind bushes as the Akarans around us watched in shock and pity. The boy's embarrassment was clear, but he never complained when he made a social blunder. Only nodded at my explanations and tried to learn, with a furrowed brow and questioning glances. 

My biggest worry came from his lack of appetite. Despite his near-starvation, his protruding ribs, his bony hips, he ate only when I or Al'iya watched him to ensure he did. I worried it was because of pain in his jaw, but I asked Al'iya and she denied my fears. She told me that the herbs she was giving him helped with the pain, and that the more he used his jaw, the easier it would get. 

But still, he near refused to eat. 

We stopped for lunch when the sun was high in the sky on the second day of travel, the Akarans quickly setting up a simple camp. Some watered the horses in a river that ran the length of the forest we skirted, while others gathered firewood so the chef could cook lunch. 

I was told we were near Starwind Tribe, and would pass the Akaran border within a few hours. But rather than push through, as they usually would, Ember had called a halt for lunch for the children. 

The moment their feet touched the earth, the three youngest began to run around chasing each other, giggling without a care in the world. I was surprised at their quick turnaround from the frightened, shivering children I'd first seen when we had rescued them, but I attributed it to children being durable, along with Al'iya's competent care. 

Tristan moved immediately to a spot as far from the camp as he could get while remaining in sight. Al'iya watched him go with careful glances as he sat with folded knees on the earth. 

I helped Llyric down from the cart, but instead of following me to the campfire for lunch, he immediately stepped away, towards Tristan. I reached out to grab him back, afraid at the way Tristan had reacted physically each time he was engaged, but I was held back by a calloused hand on my arm. I turned back to Brin and Al'iya, who watched Llyric with hopeful gazes. 

"Let him help the boy, Sage," Brin said gently. 

"I don't understand," I answered as she dropped my arm. She and Al'iya exchanged a few words in Akari before Brin gestured for me to follow her. 

"Come. We'll explain a bit of the power Al'iya senses in your mate."

EMBER—

Neither Tristan nor Llyric noticed I was only a few feet away. I had stepped away from camp to relieve myself, and was now caught behind a hedge of brush as Llyric knelt before Tristan. I didn't want to disturb them, unsure what Llyric's motive was. And when he simply held out his hand to Tristan, shaking in what I could see was apprehension, maybe a bit of fear, I was grateful I had kept my silence. 

Whatever Llyric had done to help the children, he now wanted to extend to Tristan. If the boy would allow the healing touch. 

Tristan flinched when Llyric's hand moved towards him, but then as if in a trance, Tristan studied Llyric for a full few minutes before his own hand reached out and he gripped Llyric's fingers. Llyric's flinch and gasp made my entire body tighten, ready to aid him in his distress, but I fought the instincts down and watched. 

"Bek has a family now. Not one, but two fathers. And a mother who holds him and loves him and cares for his every need."

Tristan's voice was quiet, and I could barely hear him over the haunting melody Llyric was now wordlessly humming. Llyric's face was pained, his eyes clenched shut, as he held Tristan's hand in his own on his lap. His body swayed to the music he softly sang as Tristan emptied his heart out to Llyric. It was a kind of ritual I didn't understand, but somehow it felt... near sacred: this unburdening of a boy who'd never been allowed a childhood. 

"Bek and I, we're broken and dirty and used up. How likely is it that _both of us_ will find that kind of happiness, acceptance, _family_?" The boy paused, shaking his head, a sob breaking from his chest. 

"I see the way they look at me— the Akarans. I'll never be a warrior, after being used up and helpless for a man; at the mercy of a man. What use could they have for a boy who knows nothing but how to be a good whore?

"I hurt the Akaran healer, and the warrior Galen. I didn't mean to. I'm just... I'm so angry, all the time, and I fear this rage in me... You know, I was getting too old for Fa—... Lord Butcger. He was going to sell me, in a week. Not even he wanted me. I'm useless, so what am I going to do? The Akarans' generosity can only last so long before they start demanding payment."

The boy's words petered out, Llyric's calming, angelic voice never stopping its steady beat. As he had spoken, Tristan's body had slipped more and more from tense and rigid to relaxed and leaning closer to Llyric. He was practically in Llyric's lap, and I could almost see the desire in Tristan's body to crawl forward and press itself against Llyric's skin. 

Over time, Tristan's breath came steady, as if he had fallen to sleep, and Llyric's song petered out until I could barely hear him.

They sat like that for interminable minutes until Tristan jerked up and away when Al'iya called his name, waving him over to get his lunch. Llyric stopped his song and gestured for the boy to go. Tristan hesitated for just a moment before he ran to the campfire.

Only then did Llyric let the tears brimming in his eyes begin to fall. Only then did his entire body spasm, his chest heaving with sobs. He stood on shaky legs, tripping back towards me. When he saw me, I knew he truly hadn't known I was there. He froze, his eyes widening, before he was forced to bend over and heave up what looked to be everything he had eaten in the last two days. 

I moved forward, drawn by our bond, but also the very real gratitude I felt towards him for helping a child heal past the emotional scars he would carry with him his entire life. I knew from Al'iya's assessment that Llyric's power wasn't a cure-all miracle— the children would still have to be stronger than any child should have to be and fight past what had been done to them— but his gift healed them to where they were able to face the evil they had endured, and move past it into a future of their own making. It took their emotions and centered them, giving them that strength they would so desperately need. 

I pulled Llyric's dangling hair back from his face, keeping it clean and out of his way as he heaved and sobbed. I had noticed that he seemed more and more weary as he sang for each of the children, but Tristan's pain seemed to have taken him harder than any of the others. 

I made hopefully calming shushing noises as he shook against the violence of his body's rejection of the intense emotions. I held him loosely, unsure if he would welcome my touch. But when he leaned towards me, his sobs never lessening but his heaves finally calming, I held him to my chest and began to rock gently. 

"Your power is a gift, _da'rin_ ," I said, my lips pressed against his curly hair. I took a deep breath in of his scent and let the breath go with a heavy sigh. "But the cost you pay... "

I paused, wondering if I had guessed right. I had heard of empaths, of course, people with the ability to sense others' emotions. But the way that Llyric almost seemed to channel what he felt from others was something I had never heard spoken of. Everything concerning his gift were guesses and speculation based on how the children were acting, and his own reactions to their pain. I wasn't sure if my and Al'iya's guesses were correct, but the way he now shook so ferociously in my arms seemed to attest to it. 

"Be careful you don't take too much on, _da'rin_."


	16. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of update on Wednesday. So you get two chapters today :):)

SAGE—

I listened to Brin and, through her, Al'iya go on for nearly 20 minutes about the "power" they said they believed Llyric possessed. A hedge witch's healing with herbs and poultices I could believe, because it was real. Tangible. I had seen it, knew a handful of hedge witches who could heal a man near death with a few herbs and a calming touch. A hedge witch used the natural attributes of the earth to heal. Simple. 

A man with the magical power to not only feel what those around him felt, but who could also direct those emotions into himself... just wasn't possible. 

I listened patiently, but after a while I grew tired of their nonsense and went in search of Llyric. I needed to make sure he ate before we had to travel again. If possible, I thought he was looking even skinnier and more haggard than he had the day before. 

When I came upon Ember leaning back against a straggled stump, cut down a few feet off the ground, I froze and stared. He held Llyric in his arms, his face dug into the boy's hair, his arms wrapped protectively, caringly, around him. 

I stared dumbly for a moment, wondering why the sight calmed and comforted me, rather than making me want to dive into a jealous rage. The boy was limp in Ember's arms, completely calm and sedate, but I could see the tremors that ran down his spine— as if he was only just coming down from sobbing. 

Rather than the sight of the men together bringing me rage, jealousy, I felt only a strange sense of _rightness_. Somehow, this was how it was supposed to be. Them, together. 

_With me by their side._

There was something wrong, but it was that I wasn't there with them, not that they were together. 

After a moment, Ember sensed my gaze and glanced up, meeting my eyes. Something was shared between us then... I couldn't say what. Understanding? Empathy? But it changed nothing. 

He still saw me as his enemy, and I still wanted Llyric, to protect him and learn of him and bring him to do the same for me, so nothing could happen between us. But the way I felt when he shook Llyric so he could stand and help the boy to his feet, pulling away from the both of us with a tip of his head, told me I was lying even to myself. 

I wanted Ember as much as I did Llyric. How could my feelings for two opposite men come so strongly after such a short amount of time? 

LLYRIC—

By dusk we could see the outlines of the small huts of Ember's tribe hazy on the horizon. Within another hour, we were pulling into the courtyard of a mansion— not quite a castle, but much larger than the huts and cabins around it. Not garish— Akaran simplicity and sturdiness was in every corner and stone of the building— but large and separate enough to show that the leader of the people who lived in the other homes resided there. 

A handful of people waited in the courtyard. Most of the procession that we had travelled with had slowly slinked away as we made our way through the tribe, but there were still at least a dozen of us who clattered to a stop in the courtyard. 

A man nearly Sage's size stood next to a much smaller man with hair the color of sunlight and eyes that shone with an inner light that had me wanting to look away in shame. This was a man whose blood was pure, unsullied, his soul bright and nearly dripping from his eyes. His joy and excitement rippled from him and, rather than allowing it to touch me, I redirected it at the children at my back. I smiled a bit at their sudden exuberance as they felt the man's light emotions as their own, but kept my eyes away from the knowing, far-too-understanding gaze of the Akaran hedge witch.

The large man was Akaran, but the smaller, younger one was likely El'kahrian. His coloring was similar to mine, although my sickly pale skin and dirty freckles stood pathetic next to his glowing, pure and unblemished ivory. 

Ember and the Akaran clapped shoulders and began speaking in rapid Akari as the smaller man moved towards me and Sage, who had his back to the man as he helped me down from the cart. 

"Sage!" the man said happily as Sage took my hand, linking our fingers snugly, and turned to face the man. His eyes flickered to our joined hands before sliding to the children behind us, then settling back on Sage's face. "I'm so glad my sister's faith in you paid off. Ember is practically singing your praises."

Sage scoffed in disbelief and the man blushed prettily and shrugged. "He isn't asking my mate for permission to kill you, so that's nearly a declaration of love from him."

Sage shook his head in amusement before pulling me a bit tighter to his side. The children, Al'iya, and Brin continued to pour out of the cart behind us as Sage spoke. 

"Prince Amer, this is Llyric. Llyric, this is the Akaran Warprize, Prince Amer."

"Alma above, just call me Amer please," the man said, flashing perfect, tiny white teeth. "It's nice to meet you, Llyric."

I nodded in greeting, feeling my lips twitch in what I hoped at least nearly resembled a smile. Prince Amer's brows rose, his eyes flickering to Sage. 

"He doesn't speak yet. It's... a long story."

"That's alright," Prince Amer said conspiratorially. "We all have our long stories."

"Come," Sage said. "Let me introduce you to the children."

Prince Amer nodded and as Sage led him back to the children, I was left alone. I watched as Amer greeted the hedge witch in perfect Akari, hugged Brin, then knelt to introduce himself to the children. The twins, affectionate as ever, and forever craving reciprocated affection and pets, nearly fell into the petite man's lap. Tristan looked over at me, as if making sure I wasn't worried for his safety, or maybe seeking my approval, before bowing slightly to the prince. 

"Dear gods, Sage," Prince Amer grumbled. "Stop introducing me as Prince. Please. Tristan, I'm just Amer, alright? Please don't bow to me."

Tristan stumbled through an agreement before he pulled away and moved around the courtyard, exploring. Brin, Count, and Fern had disappeared with Bek immediately after introducing him as their son to the prince, so the prince was left with the twins making his lap their bed, and Kye crawling over his back, grabbing at his hair and sliding the golden locks through his fingers, fascinated as they glowed in the dying sunlight. 

The big Akaran, the one the prince had said was his mate, called out in a voice as deep as the sea, and the prince glanced up with shining, defiant eyes. 

EMBER—

" _Let's go inside, little mate, before you get any ideas in your pretty head, with those young in your arms_."

The Warprize met Geir's eyes with a stubborn glare before purposefully turning his back on the man. 

" _Leave him be, Geir. We have much to discuss_ ," I grumbled as I dragged the former Warlord through the front doors of my home. I both hoped and dreaded Sage and Llyric following, stepping foot into my home. 

_Where they belong._

" _What about the older boy_?"

" _Tristan_?"

" _No, the one who is no longer a child. He seems far too old to be in the Monster's clutches. From what Srin'yete has said, the Monster sells the children once they reach a certain age— and that man passed that age years ago_."

Srin'yete was the mate of Chief Jacob, the Chief of the Summerstone Tribe. For most of his childhood, Srin'yete had been in the clutches of the Monster, until he had escaped with the aid of Prince Amer, Geir's Warprize. Srin'yete had been eager to see an end to the Monster's reign of evil, but he had been reluctant to be too involved, fearing it would be too much for the scars of his mind. 

I explained to Geir how we had found the children— warm, safe and cared for, kept clean and fed. And the way we had found Llyric: mutilated, tortured, malnourished, near dead from starvation and cold. 

" _Maybe he did something to earn a harsh punishment from the Monster when he was his bed slave_."

" _Al'iya says there is no evidence of sexual assault— not even old scars. It's not likely he was ever raped. But he was in that dungeon since he was a child, at least. And those jaw bindings? Al'iya said they had nearly melded into his skin. He had grown around them._ "

Geir's brows rose, and he opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped whatever he was about to say as the Warprize stepped into the front hall, leading a gaggle of children. 

" _I had thought Srin'yete would want to be here. To hear of what had come of his tormentor_ ," I said.

Geir's lips thinned as he studied the children, following the Warprize to the fire and warming their tiny hands in front of it. Al'iya moved towards the kitchen, where her workroom annexed, leaving the young man to care for the children alone. 

The Warprize seemed content, laughing as the twins again crawled up his body and forced him to snuggle them against his chest. 

" _He wanted to. He... he felt he wouldn't be strong enough— to see the evidence of what he left behind. What he escaped. He has fought every day for years to put his past behind him, and he feared that seeing the children would set him back_."

" _I understand_ ," I replied, shrugging when Geir snorted. He knew as well as I did that I very much didn't understand. The man who had taken his innocence and tormented him for years as a child would soon meet a brutal end— if Sage's words about his Queen held any merit. I would think he would want to know that as soon as possible. I knew I would. 

When Sage and Llyric finally ducked into the front hall, I froze and stiffened, my attention dropping from Geir as if he fell out of existence. 

He may as well have. 

"Oh, Llyric, I was going to tell you," the Warprize said with a smile, leaning back against the cushions behind him as the children snuffled and snuggled around him. "I'm sure you and I are nearly the same size. So if you'd like, I have plenty of extra clothes I can share— until some can be made for you, of course."


	17. Starwind Tribe

EMBER— 

The Warprize may as well have yelled across the hall that he had decided to cut off Llyric's head for how the boy acted. Stepping back rapidly, he tripped, caught by Sage's embrace. 

"Whoa there, sweetheart," Sage mumbled. "You alright?"

Llyric pulled his shirt— my shirt— halfway across his face, up to his nose, his eyes wide and staring the Warprize down with stubborn refusal leaking across his expression. He shook his head, his legs trembling.

"You can't wear naught but my and Ember's clothes forever, sweetheart," Sage whispered softly, his arms pulling the smaller man back against his chest. 

Llyric shook his head again and met my eyes with pleading in his. 

"Just a pair of leggings, please, Warprize," I said, shrugging when the Warprize looked up at me with surprise. I couldn't blame him. I wasn't sure if I had ever spoken to him directly. "He can continue to wear my shirts if that's what makes him feel safe, but the leggings are just far too close to falling off."

The relief on Llyric's face, and the gratitude in Sage's made my chest warm, clenching as I studied the men, before turning my back on them. 

" _Chief_ ," Al'iya called from the doorway into the kitchen. " _May I speak with you a moment? Bring Warlord Geir, please_."

With raised eyebrows, both Geir and I followed the hedge witch back through the kitchen and into her workroom. There were counters and shelves along the walls, interspersed with windows to let in sunlight no matter what time of day. An examination table lay off to one side, herbs and climbing plants hung from the ceiling, and a cold hearth stood near the doorway that led out into her garden. 

" _What's wrong, Al'iya_?" I asked with no little trepidation. 

" _Nothing. Sorry to worry you, I'm only concerned, and maybe a little nervous_." I nearly laughed at the picture of Al'iya being nervous about anything, but I managed to keep my face straight. 

" _I want to take in the boy Tristan. You're not likely to find him a home, unlike the younger children— not only is he El'kahrian, but he is almost a man, not quite a child any longer. His parents sold him to the Monster, so he has no one to go back to. I'll adopt him, and train him as a hedge witch_."

" _You sense power in him?_ " Geir asked with one eyebrow raised. It was an annoyance of mine, the way he was convinced his El'kahrian mate had strange magic within him. He had become something like obsessed with learning more about what he called "hidden El'kahrian magic". 

" _Not much, but yes. It's diluted and pale— a strange trait of El'kahrian magic, I've noticed— but it's there. And with some use and nurturing, it will grow. This will also give me a chance to keep an eye on his mental and spiritual health as well, as he deals with his traumas_."

" _Did you hear him? When he was talking to Llyric_?"

" _No_ ," Al'iya answered with a shake of her head. " _But I can guess that he was voicing his concerns over his future. I can see it eats at him— what we'll do with him, where he'll go, what his future brings. Let me give him a chance to move past his history_."

" _Done, Al'iya_ ," I said with a nod and a soothing gesture of my hand. Al'iya had managed to work herself up until she was near yelling, trying to convince me to let her keep the boy. " _He's yours. Care for him, and teach him our ways_."

SAGE—

Prince Amer brought Llyric a handful of leggings when we were left alone. They hung a little loose on Llyric, because he was far too skinny, but with a little weight he would fill them out nicely. He put a pair on reluctantly after I had told him there was no chance he would fit into my or Ember's pants enough to be functional and comfortable, but he refused to try any of the shirts the prince had brought. 

A few women from the tribe came to take the younger children, and I was amused by the forlorn, almost lost looks on both Llyric and the prince's faces as the children left them behind. 

Llyric and I spent the next few hours with the prince and Galen, trying to stay out of the way of the preparations for the feast the tribe was having that night. Galen told us it was something of a celebration for the death of a great evil, along with a welcome into the tribe for Bek and Tristan. It wasn't yet clear where Kye or the twins would be sent. It was likely both would be kept in the Starwind Tribe and adopted into families here, but until it was official the celebration for their adoption would be put off. 

Galen told us about his cousin, the Warlord Geir, who had sent him with Ember as a sort of test run, and that now he had passed, he would be sent out as an ambassador to a few nearby nations. He was passionate about the slavery of his people, and spoke with knowledge and an obviously quick, educated mind. His words were soft, plodding, gentle, as was the man himself, but when he spoke I couldn't help but lean forward and listen in to what he had to say, to ensure I missed not a single word. 

Prince Amer spoke a bit on what he had been doing since becoming the Warprize for the Akarans, but mostly he listened to Galen and stared off at where the twins and Kye were playing with a few other children just outside of the courtyard. 

If the twins weren't adopted into the Moonstone Tribe by the end of the night, I'd be shocked at the Warlord's ability to deny his mate. I had heard jokes at his expense about how incapable he was of turning the younger man down, for anything. And for once, I understood. For could I deny Llyric anything, if he but asked? 

When the courtyard was laid out with long tables, various fires surrounding the edges, and children ran around screaming beneath the Akarans' feet, the prince led us to a table and sat. The moment his ass touched the wooden bench, both Jude and Harley were leaping into his arms. One of the women who had been watching over the children laughed and said something in Akari that made the prince blush. He answered her, then turned and positioned the children more comfortably. 

When the Warlord moved out of the mansion and caught sight of his mate with the children in his arms, his expression both tensed and softened at the same time. His eyes shone, and I was grateful for the affection I could see there. Though I had been among Queen Hestiel's men who had come to bring the prince back to El'kahr a few weeks before, and had seen how Prince Amer threw himself in front of the Warlord to protect him from us, I was glad for each time I got to verify the love and devotion between them. The prince was beloved by all in El'kahr, and when he had been taken, I had feared a bloody, violent revolt. Luckily Queen Hestiel had as well, and, protecting her country, her people, and her siblings, she had taken matters into her own hands. 

While we ate, the Warlord watched Prince Amer with the twins, his eyes glowing with love, heat, and amusement. I kept an eye on Llyric, who was still barely eating unless I was staring at him and caught him pushing the food around his plate. 

Many of the Akarans seemed curious about both me and Llyric, and I was subject to many strange questions about El'kahr, myself, and even a few propositions by both men and women. It was an interesting night, but the way Llyric acted worried me. He seemed distracted, maybe overwhelmed. He stared off at one of the bonfires near where we sat, and he flinched anytime someone came near. If anyone addressed him directly, they were completely ignored, and when I tried to talk to him a few times, I was met with a grimace I think he had meant to be a smile. 

"Is he alright?" the prince asked with a nod towards Llyric. "He's barely eating. Is he sick?"

"I don't think so," I replied.

The prince was quiet for a time, feeding Jude and Harley from his own plate, before he whispered to me again. 

"He seems old to be one of Butcger's bed maids." I flinched at the phrase "bed maids," as it was what all of the nobles had called Butcger's victims so they wouldn't have to face what he was doing to them. It was a term used so no one had to say "child rape victims" among civilized company, and I hated it. 

"He is," I replied, quietly enough I knew Llyric couldn't hear over the roar of noise around us. Goddess Kai, these Akarans were loud when they partied. 

I explained to the prince how we had found the children, then how we had found Llyric, and he seemed just as concerned as I was. 

"I don't know," he said when I finished, biting his lips and turning his face away towards where the Warlord sat just a few seats down. "It seems strange, but... The only thing I can think, is maybe he's the son of an unfavored or disgraced noble? Maybe my father gave him to Butcger as punishment for something Llyric's father did?"

I grunted in answer. It was as good a guess as any, and actually sounded logical, knowing the king and Butcger as I did. 

"What you haven't explained," the prince continued with a teasing smile, "Is why you seem so very... attached."


	18. Belonging

LLYRIC—

I completely tuned out the prince and Sage's conversation, wholly overwhelmed by the mass of emotions, sensations, and bodies swirling around me. Quite a few in the crowd of Akarans felt similar to Brin— their souls beastial, animalistic, full of a wild magic I didn't understand and had never felt before. 

I knew Sage worried about me, but I spent nearly the entire time we ate trying to calm the emotions in my chest and the voices shrieking around me. I managed to listen in to the prince and Sage's conversation when I heard them talking about Ember. 

"I understand that connection you feel," the prince was saying. Little Harley lay content, full, and nearly asleep on his shoulder. "I felt something similar with Geir, even though I should have hated and feared him, and did. It's powerful, the way these Akarans pull you in. What I don't understand is how you feel it for both of them."

"It's... the same, but different," Sage tried to explain, picking up his fork, letting it drop to his plate, then picking it up again. "What I feel for Llyric is...protective, gentle, an emotion that feels as if it comes from every bit of my body. 

"How I feel towards Ember..." He paused, his eyes seeking out and finding Ember, talking with Al'iya a few tables away. "It's the same— all-encompassing, but it's much less gentle. It's like fire, and I'm afraid to stand too close."

"For fear you'll burn," the prince said gently, understandingly. For the first time, with his words, I could feel just the tiniest bit of a strange kind of magic twisting from the prince to Sage. It was similar to my own, but it was calming Sage, helping him open up and face what he was feeling and thinking. 

"Yes. Besides that, he hates both me and Llyric. Me especially."

The prince rolled his eyes and nodded. "When I was mated to Geir, the Chiefs had to each speak in either support or against our union, and Geir's choice of Warprize. Ember was one of the only ones to speak in opposition. His hatred of El'kahrians is pretty widely known."

He paused, his eyes flickering back to me, noticing I was listening to every word he and Sage spoke. "But one thing I've learned since I've been in Akar," he continued. "Trust your gut, your instincts, your heart. If you feel a connection with both of them, by the god of love Ulniirn, don't ignore it. Explore it."

Sage seemed overwhelmed by the words, so he and the prince fell into a companionable silence for the rest of the night, and I was left fighting the mess of sensations around me. Sage's hand in mine helped center me a bit, but it wasn't long before I wanted nothing more than to dive into a pile of blankets and shut myself off from everything around me. 

I jerked when a firm, callused hand dropped on my shoulder, turning back to stare up into Ember's deep, dark eyes. It wasn't until then I noticed that hours must have passed, for the feast around us was mostly cleaned, the fires doused, and we were one of only a few stragglers. Prince Amer had moved to sit on the ground, back against the side of the dwelling, his legs crossed beneath him, both Jude and Harley asleep on his lap. He stroked their hair, his eyes closed, his head leaning back against the wall behind him. 

Sage was deep in conversation with Galen, about some crop or another, but when I yanked my hand out of his grip, Sage glared back up at Ember. 

"It's time to sleep," Ember said, his voice soft and soothing. His fingers trailed down to my hand, and I had to fight not to jump up and press my skin to his. His touches were so rare, and so very craved. Desired... Feared. "Llyric looks as if he's going to fall over."

Sage nodded, his eyes flickering to me, then back to Ember, before he stood and held his hand out to me. I took his hand, near mourning when Ember stepped away from the both of us. 

_You belong here_! I wanted to scream. _By our sides! Stop leaving us behind!_

"Galen will show you to a guest room. You can either share, or there are plenty right next to each other, if you wanted your own beds. Goodnight."

When Ember turned his back on me, on us, I whimpered. The sound was completely involuntary, but my grabbing his hand and pulling on it, as if to drag him with us, was all intent and purpose.

_Come with us. Lead us to your bed. We belong with you. I belong with you. In your arms. Your bed. Your life._

_Stop pushing me away._

_Let me love you while I can. Before you truly learn to hate me._

My chest heaved and my heart stuttered as he firmly but gently pulled his hand from mine and deliberately turned his back on me. 

On us. 

Again. 

SAGE—

Llyric let me and Galen lead him to a large bedroom, but we had barely stepped through the entrance before Llyric was shaking his head, his eyes glaring up at me, set. 

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I fear his prejudices might be stronger than his attraction to you. Can you not be happy with me?"

Galen left without a backwards glance after an awkward salutation, and the moment he was out of sight, I was being yanked back out of the room. 

I cringed back when Llyric hummed in the back of his throat, a near-whining tune, and as if the sound had somehow been translated into words in my mind, I could hear him. His voice was stunning, breathy, high and pure, and so quiet I immediately wondered if I had heard it or imagined it. 

But I knew I'd heard it.

_Enlin, tragic god of the sky, help me. The boy does have magic in his song._

_I belong with him. Everything else is inconsequential_ , Llyric sang silently.

He dragged me through a few halls, and I had no idea how he knew where to go. Except maybe I did... He walked with far too much purpose to be guessing the way. He could feel the bond, like I could, but somehow it was more tangible for him. Nearly physical, if the way he was moving his fingers as if being led himself was any indication. 

I felt something for both Ember and Llyric, but how could that be? One of us would be left out; that was simply the way of life. Was Llyric now choosing Ember over me? Was I following him, like a lost puppy, only to realize he and Ember were choosing each other, and I should have stayed alone in the guest room Galen had brought us to?

Was I about to embarrass myself with my desperation for them?

Llyric's pounding fist on the door that I assumed led to Ember's bedroom snapped me out of my revelries and insecurities. How quickly Ember answered the door was either a testament that he had just gotten into the room himself, or that he had somehow known we were coming. 

Llyric glared the man down and, dropping my hand, he pushed past him into the room. Ember's room was a suite, a front drawing room area leading back into the bedroom. He and I followed Llyric, like dogs after their master, as he stomped through the room and through the doorway into the bedroom. When we entered the room as well, we were met with the sight of Llyric pulling back the blankets. He threw himself into the bed, snuggled up under the blankets, and glared at both me and Ember with accusing eyes. 

My heart clenched and crumbled a bit at the sight of him so obviously, forcefully choosing Ember, but I lifted my chin and smiled at him to show him I understood and respected his choice. I took a few steps back, opening my mouth to excuse myself, but froze completely when Llyric huffed in irritation, his ire-filled gaze falling on me alone. 

He stood, nearly violently snapping the blankets back, stomping to stand in front of me. He pushed and pulled me until I stood in front of Ember, stepped in between us, and set one palm on either of our chests. He glared up at me, then Ember, and back again, and I stood frozen in confusion. 

Ember chuckled and reached down to cover Llyric's hand with his own. His big, callused, scarred hand dwarfed Llyric's, making Llyric look even smaller. His hazelnut skin tone looked darker next to Llyric's red-hued, sickly pale, and the dichotomy sent a thrill down my spine. 

_Right. It's_ right. 

_They_ belong.

"Alright, _da'rin_ , I get it. I understand, and I accept," Ember said gently, his fingers tangling with Llyric's. 

"I don't," I whispered, my heart near jumping from my chest. I thought maybe I understood, was beginning to, but... 

"We are fated, Sage," Ember replied, his other hand coming up to rest atop Llyric's on my chest. "There is a belief in Akar of fated soul mates. Usually wild mages, but there are others lucky enough to find their soulmate... or mates." 

"You mean the three of us? How would that even work?" I scoffed in near-disbelief. 

I almost believed, but something held me back. Long years among El'kahrians, who would scoff at not only men being together romantically, but three men being in a relationship. My own insecurities about Ember's hatred of my people. My inadequacies when it came to being the right man for Llyric, who had surely been through hell and lived in its fires since he was a child. 

I pulled back, forcing both Llyric and Ember to drop their fists. But just as I took a step back, Llyric was on his tiptoes, his lips meeting mine. The kiss was brief, barely a breath, a tiny touch, and yet it was perfect. 

He pulled away, leaving me to absently follow those lips as he curled them up at me, his scar-dimples flashing deeply. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the fog he had pressed into it, then turned to Ember. 

"You would be with not one, but two El'kahrians?" 

Ember shrugged, bringing his hand up to run a finger along my kiss-stained, tingling lips. "You're not all so bad." 

Then he was kissing me, his touch deeper, harder, more demanding than Llyrc's could ever be, and my entire body melted into a molten puddle in his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****FINALLY, stupid Ember. What did you guys think? You liking it so far? :):):):)*****


	19. What is Yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****smut ahead ;) Enjoy responsibly, and be nice. This is my first try at a threesome sex scene, so.... enjoy, pervs ;P *blushes stupidly * *****

EMBER—

During the feast, I had been very aware and frustrated by both Llyric and Sage's furtive, longing gazes on my back. Llyric's were outright, but Sage tried to hide his anytime I turned to him. It had taken nearly everything in me to keep myself from throwing myself at them. But I held back, refusing to give in to what I knew fate had decreed.

I wasn't the only one who noticed. 

When I explained to Geir why Sage was there, and Llyric's obvious magic and ability to sense our bond, he spent nearly an hour growling at me about duty, fate, and destiny, and the rarity and purity of a soul bond. Then another 15 minutes calling me as many variations of idiot as he could think of, before scoffing, turning his back on me, and muttering under his breath. 

" _Idiot; bigoted asshole_ ," he mumbled, shaking his head as he left me wondering if I had ever had someone yell at me that way. 

And feeling very foolish. 

Because of course he was right. Yes, El'kahrians had done evil things. But not my El'kahrians. Not those two men who so obviously wanted to be with me. 

Even if Sage didn't quite understand his own feelings on the matter. 

My men had been innocent of the evils of their king and some of their people. Sage had fought in battles against Akar, but he had done it as a soldier with no say in who he battled against. I could no sooner blame him for the Akaran blood on his hands than Llyric, who had likely never set eyes on an Akaran until me. 

I couldn't let the vile deeds of evil men take away the men, the future, the love fate had given to me. I couldn't. 

I wouldn't. 

I had nearly gone to find them when Llyric pounded on my door, and my gratitude towards him for fighting past my stubborn idiocy was immense. 

Sage and I battled with lips and teeth and tongue, and it wasn't until I won, shoving my tongue into his mouth and groaning as I tasted his essence, that I realized we were being gently led to the bed by Llyric. His small hands on both of our arms were pulling so gently it was nearly a dance as we floated to my bed. 

I pulled away, leaving Sage panting, his eyes still clenched shut, before turning to Llyric. My lips on his were far gentler, and I barely noticed as Sage began to loosen my belt, his fingers sure and steady. My own shook as I lifted them to cup Llyric's face, my tongue invading his mouth, my thumbs brushing against the strangely alluring dimples on his cheeks— the scars left behind by his jaw bindings. Unlike Sage, Llyric was putty in my hands, never fighting me for dominance, only falling into my arms and letting me do what I would. He was all sweetness, all submission, and the Akaran warrior in me wanted to crow. I enjoyed the battle of wills with Sage, but this was just as pleasurable, just as arousing. 

When I pulled away from Llyric, Sage's lips replaced mine on the younger man's, and I was left to finish what Sage had started. I removed his pants and loincloth as he had mine, then I was pulling Llyric's— which was really Sage's— shirt over his head. 

Llyric pulled away from Sage's grasping mouth when Sage tried to lean back in once Llyric's skin was bare for us. Llyric's eyes met mine, hesitation and shame heady in his depths. 

"What's wrong, _da'rin_?" I whispered, cupping his face and laying a gentle kiss against his cheek. 

He shook his head against me, but the way he held his arms up, as if to cover himself, I understood. 

As did Sage.

"Sweet boy," Sage murmured, pulling Llyric's attention back to him. "You are beautiful. Your scars mean nothing to either of us; only that you're a damn impressive, strong survivor. Do you understand?"

Llyric shrugged, his eyes everywhere but on me and Sage. 

"He's right, _da'rin_ ," I said, pulling the boy's hands away from where he had them clenched against his chest. "You're stunning, and your strength is incredible. Never think of yourself as less because of the marks of your survival."

Sage nodded before he smirked and leaned forward, scooping Llyric up and tossing him up onto my— our— bed in one motion. I laughed as Llyric stared up at Sage in shock. 

I watched for a moment as Sage stalked Llyric like a wild cat, his body all sleek, powerful lines, pushing him up until Llyric's back was to the bed headboard. Llyric's face finally lost its tense, worried, embarrassed look as he stared up into Sage's eyes and smiled. The little dimples I was beginning to love— though they were the cruelest reminder of his captivity— flashed deeper as Llyric giggled at the way Sage playfully tugged his legs down. Sage made quick work of Llyric's leggings, and I was struck dumb at the way my men— gods, my men, my mates— looked together. Llyric pliant and submissive beneath Sage's hulking, looming body, his thin legs twined with Sage's muscled thighs. 

I swallowed deeply, trying to clear my dry throat, when I caught a flash of the various piercings on my mates. They shared a few— they both had one at the base of their cocks, both had one hooked into their belly buttons— but Llyric's outnumbered Sage's by half. 

Sage's cock was thick and long, twisting up in a way I knew would feel like heaven on a man's prostate. It was hard and primed, surrounded by a bush of light brown hair. Llyric's was proportionately long, but thin, his own body completely hairless. I wondered momentarily if he was one of those men who never grew hair on anything other than their head, or if he'd been shaved by a dyster blade, which would cut the hair and ensure it stayed cut permanently. 

Llyric's soft groan drew my attention to his face, and it was only then I realized both men were staring me down as I in turn admired their bodies. Llyric's pleasured sound was due to Sage's groin pressed against his own as they slowly rocked together, as one. 

"If there's one thing I like about El'kahrian culture, it's those damn piercings," I grumbled as I crawled onto the bed to join my mates. 

SAGE—

I was grateful Ember liked our piercings, but Llyric's were something we needed to address. 

Later. Something we would address later. 

Because now, I didn't know how I could possibly hold back long enough to have a coherent conversation with Llyric about which piercings he wanted removed and which he may want to keep, if any. 

When Ember reached us, he dipped his lips to meet mine as his hand reached out to tweak Llyric's nipples. I could feel Llyric whimpering beneath me, his hips rocking up against mine as Ember twisted and tugged against the little piercings in his nipples. 

"Nnngh," Llyric groaned, his eyes clenched shut as his penis began to leak against his belly. 

I pulled away from Ember to lean forward, trailing a line of kisses up Llyric's neck and to his open, panting mouth. I licked my tongue inside, shuddering at his sweet taste, before pulling my cock away from his. The way they had been smashed together, one or both of us would have come soon, and I wanted so, so much more than that. 

Ember rustled in a drawer next to his bed before returning with a bottle of bed oils. When Llyric saw it, his eyes widened and he mewled. I studied him, ensuring I saw no dark emotions. Only when I was sure he bore no signs of hesitation or fear did I reach for the bottle Ember held out for me. 

Ember moved around to Llyric's back, moving and positioning the smaller man so he was leaning back against Ember's chest. He began to bite and lick against Llyric's neck and cheeks, his hands running up and down Llyric's chest and stomach. He flicked and played with both the smaller man's nipple piercings and his belly button piercing, making Llyric's hips jerk every time he tugged on either. 

I set the bed oils aside and leaned forward, drawing both Ember and Llyric's eyes to mine. 

"Llyric, is this alright?" I asked, knowing I'd never be able to go through with this without his explicit permission. According to Al'iya, he hadn't been raped, but that didn't exclude many other evils that had and may have been done to him. I needed to ensure he wanted me inside of him as much as I wanted to be. "Is it alright if I put my prick inside your hole?"

Llyric's body shuddered as he began to frantically nod. And in that way that I was both sure I heard him inside my head, and completely terrified I was losing my mind, he sang, the humming aloud, the words silent. 

_Yes, mate mine. Take what is yours, freely given._

Ember's body jerked and his eyes met mine, and I knew then we had both heard the song Llyric had twisted from only a few wordless notes and a power I didn't fully understand. 

And wasn't sure I ever would. 

Ember's eyes shone with a bright kind of pride, and I set aside my own confusion and insecurity when it came to actual, real magic. I collected the bottle again as Ember went back to playing and loving on Llyric's body and his piercings. I remembered Prince Amer joking about the Akarans' fascination with our piercings, and it took a lot of self-control not to tease Ember even as he took one of Llyric's ear piercings between his teeth and tugged, making Llyric cry out. 

I chuckled, rolling my eyes and lifting Llyric's legs. I set his feet to rest on my thighs, holding him spread open for me. His glazed eyes met mine just as I put one finger to his pucker and pressed gently. He bit his lip as my finger managed to push inside, his toes on my naked thighs clenching. 

"Gods, Sage," Ember whispered, staring me down as I slowly pressed more and more of my finger into the young man beneath me. Llyric's hands fisted against Ember's arms, their powerful lengths wrapped tightly around the younger man's chest to hold him steady for me. "I want you both. So much. Hurry, Sage. Fucking open him up for his mates' cocks."


	20. Beautiful Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** smut. That's pretty much it. Smut. *****

LYRIC—

I was surrounded, wholly and completely, by the two men who had so very quickly become my entire world. My mates, my saviors, my loves. 

Because dear gods did I love them. With every bone and fiber of my being, from deep in my very soul, I desired and craved and needed them. And they were mine, if only for as long as I could hold onto them. 

As Sage gently, efficiently, achingly slowly pressed one finger in and out of my ass, then added a second, and finally a third, I was distracted almost wholly by Ember's ministrations. His fascination with my piercings was endearing. I knew the meanings of each one— I was tutored in that, if nothing else, for Father always wanted me wholly aware of the degradations he inflicted on my body— but the way Ember laced his fingers in the slave piercings at my nipples, then bent and contorted his body so he could taste them had me wanting to get even more if only to please him. 

With his simple, wordless affection on the jewelry, he had taken every meaning Father had attributed to the hateful things and twisted it. Now I would look on the diamonds not as shameful things branding me as Father's property, but as marks that not only brought me pleasure in tingling rushes up my spine, but that my Akaran mate enjoyed. 

Prince Amer had even said his mate's sister had gotten her nipples pierced, as a kind of present for her own mate. If she could wear the bits of jewelry with pride, then so could I. 

Sage's movements in and around my ass had my entire body on edge. Though Ember tried to distract me with his clever tongue and teasing fingers, the stretch and ache of three of Sage's fingers plunging in and out of my hole had tears springing to my eyes. 

"Llyric," Sage whispered, drawing Ember up to look back at him, then turn to me. 

I shook my head, begging silently for him not to stop. 

Never stop. 

"Alright, sweet boy," Sage said gently, smiling as he shook his head. He pulled away just long enough to coat his long, thick prick with bed oils, then he was back, his body devouring mine as he leaned forward to press a gentle, sweet kiss to my lips. "You ready?" 

I nodded determinedly against Sage's lips, calmed by Ember's enveloping heat at my back. In the next moment I was gasping, my back arching as Sage's thick, beautiful cock began to make a place for itself inside my body. 

The burn was intense, the full stretch making me flinch and whimper without meaning to. Sage didn't hesitate, however, and within moments his groin was pressed snugly against my own, his balls smashed against my ass as he took deep, calming breaths. 

Without warning, Ember leaned forward, nearly folding me in half, and slammed his lips to Sage's. I cried out as the move had Sage plastered even more inside of me, my dripping cock pressed against my belly. 

"Gods," Ember growled as he pulled away after a gasp-inducing tug against Sage's belly piercing. "The two of you are beautiful together."

I could feel Sage's cock twitch inside my body as he stared into Ember's eyes for a moment. Then Ember was leaning back, dragging me with him, and Sage was looming over me. 

"Hold onto Ember, sweet boy."

I had but a moment to process Sage's words before he was pulling out and slamming back into me, his groin grinding against the piercings along my perineum and cock making me twist and scream. 

"Oh, that feels good, huh?" Ember whispered against my ear. Then he was pulling out from behind me so he could kneel by my side, his own dark, thick and heavy cock stone-hard and leaking. I blearily stared up at him, not even sure I understood what he was saying. And then his teeth were teasing the piercing at my belly and his fingers were tugging on the one at the base of my prick. Sage continued a slow but firm thrust into my body, his cock managing to press against a place inside me that had stars dancing at the edge of my vision, and I lost myself. 

I shattered, coming all over Ember's neck and my own belly. I had never had an orgasm before, and my first nearly wrung me completely dry and empty. Ember pulled away with a smirk, his hands soothing up and down my stomach, stopping every other motion to flick and tug at my belly piercing. Sage froze inside me, his breaths heavy and irregular. 

I shook my head down at him, don't stop, and he met my eyes with a smile. "Oh don't worry, sweet boy. That was only the beginning."

SAGE—

I pulled out of Llyric's hot, welcoming and slick body, but only to make way for Ember. His cock was dark, about the same length as my own, but he was thicker. I pulled up to Llyric's side as he slicked himself up and, his eyes never leaving Llyric's, he steadily pressed himself inside. 

Llyric groaned, his sensitive cock twitching in its own puddle of cum. I bent down, licking up his spend, before bringing my mouth up to Ember's. Continuously thrusting inside of Llyric, Ember opened his mouth and allowed me to press my tongue inside of him and share Llyric's release. Llyric mewled at the sight as I pulled away from Ember's lips only long enough to clean up his neck and chest of Llyric's cum before I dove back in, my and Ember's tongues sharing and tasting the young man beneath us. 

I leaned back and then forward again, this time down to where Ember and Llyric were joined. I gently lifted Llyric's member in gentle fingers and stroked him a few times. He screamed, his hands coming down to grab at my arm as I met his eyes and smiled. His eyes glazed with lust, he barely seemed coherent as I reached down and fondled his balls, tickling the piercings below them with one hand while the other gently massaged the tip of his penis. 

His cries and moans had songs with wordless lyrics racing through my mind, and the feeling was somehow calming and exciting at the same time. It seemed to heighten my own pleasure, even as my prick lay untouched against my hip. The second time he came that night, it was with his eyes never leaving mine, his entire body shaking as if there was an earthquake in his very bones. 

Ember pulled out of Llyric's body and I immediately moved to take his place, marveling at how easily, fluidly we moved around each other. As if we had done this— made love and pleasured Llyric and each other— a million times before. 

Once back inside of Llyric's furnace-like heat, I couldn't help but pick up my pace. The man had come twice, and yet his prick was miraculously still hard against his belly, so I was sure we could wring at least one more from him. 

Not that I myself would last much longer. And if the look of Ember's cock was any indication, neither could he. 

Ember knelt beside Llyric, then his breath was against my stomach, then Llyric was screaming wordlessly as Ember's mouth enveloped his cock. With only a handful more thrusts inside his spasming canal as he came around my cock and inside of Ember's mouth, I couldn't hold back anymore, and I came with a groan and deep grunts inside of Llyric's hot, now-limp body. 

When I could breathe again, I opened my eyes to see Ember's hand slapping up and down his cock, the tip aimed at Llyric's pretty nipples, the two men's eyes locked as Ember panted, his chest heaving. Llyric watched the bigger man blearily, but his hand was hard at work between Ember's legs. He cupped and massaged Ember's balls, silently urging the Akaran to mark his skin with his release. 

It took only one move on my part before Ember was coming with a drawn-out groan. I reached forward and pressed a single, nearly-chaste kiss against his lips, and he was gone. His eyes rolled back, his back arched, and copious strings of cum jetted out to cover Llyric's chest, dirty his piercings. 

I pulled back, smiling up at Ember as he stared back at me with wide eyes. I reached forward to a limp, pliant, nearly passed-out Llyric and pressed a soft kiss to his smiling, sated mouth. I pressed my fingers through the release on his chest and a little of his belly, rubbing the cum into his skin, marking him as Ember's. 

Ember groaned, and then his fingers were gripping my chin to turn my face to him, and I was lost as our mouths dueled for dominance above the young man that had brought us together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** *blushes and runs away * *****


	21. Worries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of update, ya’ll!! I was sick, and then my sister was visiting from out of state, and I’ve just been SLAMMED. ugh. But I’m back now, and here’s TWO CHAPTERS to make up for it :):) 
> 
> Also, if you also read my Wild Magic Series, I’m uploading the first chapter of the short story prequel about Dasan and Nibley, so go check that out too! It’s called “As They Came In.” Or even if you don’t read my Wild Magic Series, it’s a great story about first/forever loves, fighting past bigotry, and losing their virginities to their childhood besties ;)

LLYRIC—

They thought I slept, so their words were quiet whispers above my head. I kept my breathing steady, my eyes shut against the flickering candlelight, as I listened as they did what I knew they would from the moment I first opened my eyes, falling from the wall of Father's dungeon, and caught sight of my future in their gazes. 

Tore my world to shreds.

For my love for them, and our bond, was nothing to the evil in my veins. And not even the bond between us would protect me from their disgust and rage when they learned who— what— I am. 

To whom I was born. 

"I worry for him," Sage said, his breaths sending ripples down my spine. My sore anus clenched as I tried to keep myself from shuddering in pleasure. 

After they had taken turns inside my body, making me orgasm an agonizing three times, they had spent a few minutes above me, their mouths tangled and hands groping. Before either could get aroused again, Sage had pulled out of my ass, and Ember had left the bed for a few moments and returned with two warm, wet towels. He handed one to Sage, who painstakingly and oh-so-gently cleaned my anus of his spend and the copious bed oils he and Ember had coated their pricks with. Ember worked to clean my chest and belly, of his and my own spend, and then the two men were surrounding me, their warm bodies comforting my own, and I knew safety and warmth, again only in their arms. 

It hadn't lasted long before they grew restless with their questions and confusions. 

"He seems to get along alright, all things considered," Ember replied, his fingers tracing circles on the hand Sage had around my hip. 

"He barely eats, Ember, and only when I'm watching to ensure he does. He was nearly catatonic for much of the feast, and I don't know... I almost feel as if he's skinnier, more haggard and tired than he was when we found him in that hellish place."

" _Skit'rein_ ," Ember cursed in Akari. "I hadn't noticed his eating... I had attributed the dark circles under his eyes and his tiredness to the travel."

"Maybe," Sage answered, his deep breath at my back lifting me a bit before dropping back down. "I hope so. But why won't he eat?"

"Maybe he's just not accustomed to multiple meals? Or is it his jaw?"

I wasn't accustomed to three meals a day, and my jaw did still ache with each bite, but neither of those was the real reason I kept myself as empty of nutrition as possible.

If I gained strength, then what I had to do would become more difficult. Possibly impossible. I needed to keep myself alive, but only just, so that it would be a matter of a simple moment to end my life and leave my mates to hate me in my death. But at least I wouldn't have to face that hatred in life. I couldn't bear that. I wouldn't. They would, likely soon, learn who I was, and before that happened I had to end my life. 

_Gods, when I'm gone, watch over them. Please, keep them together. Don't let my death tear them apart— they deserve each other._

"I also worry about his past, as well," Sage began, near hesitantly. "In my letter to my queen, I asked her to look into who he was to be in the dungeon and treated the way he was. I should have an answer within a week or two. Hopefully knowing who he is can shed some light on how to help him."

Ember hummed in agreement before his lips were laid gently on my forehead. "Gods, how can I feel this much for a man I've known less than a week?"

Sage's words had stopped my heart in terror, and Ember's slammed it back into thrumming nearly in my throat. 

But Sage's were far more prevalent and I had to stop from hyperventilating. 

I had one, maybe two weeks to spend with my mates, in their arms, filled by their bodies and their seed, learning the taste of them and discovering the way love between people should be, not the twisted, mutated version my father embraced, before I had to leave them in a tragic way. I couldn't bear to feel their hatred, their censure, the way they would surely look at me like the monster I knew they would think me. For I was my father's son in name and blood, and his evil was of the most vile kind. 

My only hope came from the knowledge that I was also my mother's son, and I would take myself from this world the way she had— on my own terms, escaping before I had to endure more pain. 

The moment I had word that the messenger from Queen Hestiel had come, I would escape in the only way I knew how. 

"It's overwhelming," Sage agreed to Ember's words after a moment. 

"Do you think he will ever talk?" Ember said, his lips moving against my skin as he trailed them down to my temple before resting them there. 

Sage hesitated, and his arms around me tightened just a bit. 

"I hope so. I pray he does, because can you even imagine how our names on his lips will sound?"

Ember nodded against me in agreement before moving back just a bit. He leaned over me to set a kiss to Sage's lips, which quickly turned harsh and demanding. Knowing I had such a limited time to be with them, I pretended his movements woke me, and joined in their lovemaking. 

SAGE—

Llyric let us know he was awake by diving under the covers between me and Ember. His soft, delicate, long-fingered hand was soon gripping my quickly-hardening shaft, and I groaned as his fingers began to caress my length. I noticed his head bobbing beneath the blanket and looked up into Ember's slanted, heat-filled eyes and shuddered.

"Fucking hell, Llyric," Ember groaned. 

Llyric's fingers deftly worked my prick to near-bursting before he slowed, moving the tips of his fingers back to fondle my balls, letting me calm a bit, and then he was back to pumping me to distraction. 

"Our mate is dexterous," Ember joked as his back arched seemingly without his controlling it. "That's a wonderful talent you have, _da'rin_ , working with both your hands and your— _fuck_!— your mouth."

A chuckle rose from the blankets, and then Llyric was switching, his hot, tight, slick heat engulfing me so suddenly I nearly came upon his tongue. His mouth on my cock was unsteady, unpracticed, a little clumsy, but it was like nothing I had ever felt before. And it was only enhanced by the little groans and whimpers he let spill past his lips, the noises sounding so desperate and wrecked I wanted nothing more than to sink myself deep inside of him and completely lose control. But he was giving both Ember and I his total trust, and exploring with our bodies, and I wouldn't force my own pleasure at the expense of his trusting, affectionate touches.

Ember's mouth on mine froze my entire body for a moment before I opened my lips, moaning as he took full control. I could feel Llyric's hands continue to work up and down, squeezing and twisting on Ember's cock as Ember thrust against his grip. Llyric gagged, pushing my prick too far down his throat. He pulled up, taking a deep breath before dipping down again. 

"Yes, sweet boy," I groaned against Ember's lips in a rare break from his devouring me for a breath. "Just like that. You're so good at that, Llyric. So good for me, love."

Ember pulled back, reaching down under the blankets and yanking Llyric off my prick. I wanted to groan and beg Ember to put Llyric back, right where he belonged, but when I caught sight of Llyric I could do nothing but follow-through with Ember's obvious plans. 

Llyric looked wholly and totally wrecked, debauched, _ravaged_. His hair was a mess of curls around his face, his cheeks were bright red, spit and tears from his gags dripped down his face, and his lips were cock-swollen, making me want to bite them. Ember pulled him up until he was straddling his hips, their groins smashed together. 

Ember attacked Llyric's mouth, their tongues tangling in a noisy, sloppy dance, as Ember hipped his prick up repeatedly against Llyric's hard, dripping cock. Before long, Llyric was mumbling incoherently, barely able to breathe for the intensity of Ember's kisses.

I grabbed the bed oils jar and worked my way behind Llyric. I set the jar aside and trailed my way down the young man's spine with fingers and tongue. He whimpered beneath me, directly into Ember's mouth, as I reached the top of his crack. I pulled his cheeks apart, watching his back arch a little as I puffed out a hot breath against his twitching hole. 

"Such a pretty little hole," I whispered, dragging a drawn-out groan from Ember.

"Taste him for the both of us, Sage," Ember growled against Llyric's neck, his hands coming up to wrap around Llyric's ass. Ember dug his fingers into the soft padding of Llyric's asscheeks and held the young man open for me. Llyric all but collapsed against Ember as the bigger man began to bite and lick at his neck and cheeks rather than his lips. 

I licked a stripe from Llyric's three perineum piercings and up and over his hole. He screamed, his body bucking against Ember's, but neither Ember nor I pulled away. Ember held Llyric open for me, and after a few more long licks, I focused on the little bundle of nerves I knew would take Llyric to ecstasy.

I started with kitten licks against the small hole, winking open a bit with our use just an hour ago or so, before I brought my fingers in to play. As Ember whispered sweet words directly into Llyric's ear, their hips slowly, sensuously rocking together, I fondled Llyric's balls, tongued his hole and the piercings just above it, tugging those as well every few minutes, and finally pushed one finger inside when he was relaxed and loose enough, my tongue never leaving the warmth of Llyric's insides even as my finger joined it.

I pressed my index finger up and around, twisting to find Llyric's prostate. And when I found it, I knew it immediately. For the man jerked, crying out against Ember's chest as he shuddered and groaned through an intense-looking orgasm, his spend coating both his and Ember's bellies. During his orgasm, his cries grew to a pitch that made me near-lightheaded, and without a touch to my prick, I was losing my seed across his ass cheeks, followed, if his grunts and curses were any indication, by a stunned Ember. 

"Fuck," I groaned, twisting so when I fell I was lying with my head propped on Ember's shoulder, right near Llyric. I met Llyric's sleepy, content gaze, gratitude and deep emotion in the depths of his eyes, and brought my fingers up to run them through his mussed hair. 

"Did you feel that?" Ember whispered, and I nodded against his shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss to the sweat-drenched skin beneath my head. "His voice... fucking hell Sage, his voice alone made me come."


	22. Adopting Young

SAGE—

Waking with only one man by my side, in my arms, was strangely disappointing. When I looked down and realized which it was, I was not only disappointed there was only one, but surprised by which it was. 

Ember twitched and opened his eyes blearily, glaring up at me before rolling over and snorting in annoyance.

None of us had slept much, if at all. It felt as if every time I managed to fall into unconsciousness, my body sated and exhausted, I was woken by Ember's lips and tongue, or Llyric's hands and clenching ass. We took turns waking each other, sometimes one of us falling to sleep to leave the other two in a desperate bid for release together. It was always just a little less intense with only two, but we made do, and I don't think I had ever come that many times in one night in my entire life. 

"Not a morning person?" I asked with amusement. A grunt was Ember's only answer, but suddenly he seemed to realize we were only two as well, for he jerked and sat up, looking around the room. His dark, braided hair stuck out on all sides of his head and I had to fight to keep from laughing at how it almost made him look... cute.

Gods, he would kill me if he knew that thought had crossed my mind. 

When we determined Llyric wasn't in Ember's suite of rooms, we dressed quickly. I had to borrow one of Ember's shirts, for mine was inexplicably not where I had thrown it last night. We exchanged not a word as Ember led me from his rooms and through the mansion. It was mid-morning, the sun just heating the courtyard beneath our feet as we made our way out of the mansion. Ember called to people as we passed, and I heard Llyric's name in the jumble of Akari, but we weren't successful until we came across Al'iya and Tristan. 

Al'iya worked in her garden, Tristan diligently pulling weeds at her side, looking calmer and, dare I say, happier than I had ever seen him. 

I had caught sight of Al'iya telling the boy she was adopting him and taking him on as an apprentice the night before, through Galen as translator of course, and she had been forced to lead him away from the feast when he nearly buckled with sobs. They now worked side-by-side, their silence only interrupted when Al'iya would point to a plant or something nearby and voice the word in Akari. Tristan would then repeat it, badly, a few times until he got it close enough, and silence would again consume them. 

I watched for a moment as Tristan's lips continued to move silently, as if repeating the words in his head over and over. 

When Ember asked Al'iya where Llyric was, she simply pointed a ways off, past a copse of trees and brush, and muttered not a handful of words. 

"There's a small lake that way," Ember explained as he led me where she pointed. "She said he wandered toward it when he heard the water."

Had Llyric slept at all?

Within a few feet from Tristan and Al'iya, I could hear the now-familiar sound of Llyric's angelic voice, lifted in wordless song. When we caught sight of him, he took my breath away. 

Wearing Prince Amer's leggings, my missing shirt, and Ember's cloak, he sat cross-legged with his back to a willow that hung over the water. His face was raised to the sun, a little red from exposure, the freckles across his nose and cheeks darkening from the sunlight, his mouth open just enough for his song to slip out and caress my ears. 

His voice, though it bore no lyrics, was high, clear, and beautiful. Words couldn't describe the way it pulled me in, made me want to kneel at his feet and worship the very ground he sat upon. 

I knew Ember felt the same, for he did drop to his knees at Llyric's feet. Llyric's song abruptly ended when Ember dove forward, taking the younger man's lips with his own. I watched them for a few minutes, my own pleasure ebbing and flowing at the stunning sight of the two men. Llyric's fingers trailed up and tangled in Ember's hair, holding Ember to him tightly, his grip steady but gentle. 

I moved towards them when Ember began to lift Llyric's shirt to reach the delicious, hot skin underneath. I sat beside Llyric, pulling his lips from Ember's to mine. He came willingly, as he always did, letting us both manhandle him as we desired. His compliance, his submission, was something I had never known I enjoyed so very much. Especially the dichotomy of his submission and Ember's fight with me for dominance and control. It made our lovemaking interesting and scorching. 

I cupped Llyric's cheek, gently moving my lips against his. His whimpers and gentle sighs, as always, affected every bit of me, and before long I was panting, burning from the inside. 

Just as Ember's hands hooked in my belt to pull me down to him, a cough sounded behind him, making both me and Ember jerk away almost guiltily. Llyric only gazed up with a dazed, lust-filled, impatient glare, annoyed at being interrupted, but both Ember and I glanced back at the Warlord and his prince as if we were teenagers caught by our parents. 

The prince was near tears with laughter and embarrassment, and the Warlord's eyes danced with amusement. 

"We needed to talk to Ember for a few minutes," the prince said, trying to hold back his laughter through his heavy blushes. "We can, uh, come back if you need time?" 

EMBER—

I shook my head and, with one last gentle kiss to Llyric's swollen lips, and a gentle brush of lips against Sage's hand, I followed Geir and the Warprize as they led me back towards my home. 

" _My mate and I would like to request to adopt Jude and Harley_ ," Geir began, his fingers linking with the Warprize's. " _We want to take them in as our young. We had planned on leaving today, but we can stay a bit longer if you think it necessary_."

" _No,_ " I said, my brows raised. " _I don't think there's any need for that. But you're sure? Taking in two at once would be difficult for anyone. I had thought I might need to find a family who already had children, and would have the experience to care for them_."

" _Both of us have had younger siblings_ ," Geir said. He and Chief Jacob had given me control over the mission of taking down the Monster, and I was grateful he was still ceding me the control of deciding the best thing for the rescued children. " _And you know how many cousins I have. There are plenty of families in my tribe, so we won't be alone if we need help or advice_."

" _Please, Ember_ ," the Warprize said gently, reaching a hand out to place it on my arm. " _I feel a connection to both of them. I can't explain it, but they're meant to be ours_."

I studied the young man for a few moments. I had never thought favorably of him, but I could see the quiet strength he exuded. In only the few months he had been in Akar, he had gathered many friends and gained a lot of respect. Both Chief Jacob and Chief Clara sang his praises, and I had never seen Geir so smitten with a man— and I had known him my whole life. He was there at my birth. His mother and mine had been friends until my mother died. And until now, I had never seen him spend more than a night with a man. 

He must be someone special to have caught the eye of one of the few men I considered a friend. 

" _Of course_ ," I said, shrugging and nodding. The Warprize clapped excitedly as I continued, " _I'm sure the two of you will be great fathers_."

I spent the remainder of the day trying to keep my mind on my work and away from the two men who distracted me to no end. According to Geir, who left for home with his prince and their new young shortly after lunch, my men were spending the day with Al'iya, Brin, Count, and Fern. Count, Fern, and Brin were adding a room onto their hut for their new son, and apparently Sage was something of an expert. Or so Geir said with amusement and a slightly proud look in his eyes. Pride in me. 

" _I'm glad you're no longer walking around with your head in your own ass, brother_ ," he said, clapping me on the shoulder, before he went to help his mate place their new young up into the cart. They were borrowing the one we brought with us to bring the children home to get their new young home, and would send it back with Galen. 

Galen was being sent to a far-off empire called We'ren, where it was rumored the young emperor there had abolished most of the slave laws, despite the animosity he was receiving from those in his Empire for doing so. Geir had told me that many of the slaves in that Empire were Akaran, so he had warned of a possible influx of ex-slaves returning home. 

The Emperor of We'ren had been excited to host an ambassador from Akar. Galen was the first our little smattering of tribes had ever sent out as ambassador, and it was, we hoped, a step towards peace in our future. And Galen was perfect for the role— he was intelligent and picked up on languages quickly; he was unassuming and gentle despite his size, and best of all, he was a wild mage— a bear shifter, so we worried not about sending him out to other countries. The man could protect himself better than most.


	23. Building a Place for Bek

LLYRIC—

I hadn't slept a bit. All night, my men had taken turns playing my body like music and teaching me how to please them, and then slept a few hours before they would wake to begin again. It was bliss I could never have even dreamed of. 

When the sky began to gray, I got up, having to move slowly and carefully so as not to wake them, and watched them sleep. Ember lay across Sage's broad chest, and both men snored so loudly it made me have to put my hands over my mouth to keep from giggling and waking them. When I noticed Sage's fingers clutching at Ember's, and the way their legs entwined, I had to turn away. 

My eyes wet with unshed tears, I silently made my way out of Ember's rooms and into the darkness of pre-dawn. I wandered a bit, my mind muddled, before finding a peaceful lake. The sound of the waves lapping against the shore and the wind in the willows around me set a song in my heart I couldn't not sing. 

I sang of my own pain, my sorrows and insecurities now that Father could no longer hurt me. But mostly I sang of my love for my mates and the horrible ache of anguish I felt that I only had a short bit of time with them. 

When they found me and immediately began to kiss and caress me, I was calmed again. But always, always in the back of my mind, I sang, soon. Soon, I'll leave you. Soon these tender feelings you have for me will burn out and be replaced with hatred, and disgust, and anger. 

For who could love the Monster's heir?

After Sage had dragged me to beg breakfast from one of the local tribal women, we ate together in Al'iya's garden. When I made a noise to question Sage where Ember was, he immediately understood. It seemed my big, gentle mate was learning to listen with more than his ears. 

"I'm sure he's going to be very busy for a while. He's the tribal leader, sweetheart, and he was gone for nearly a week. He'll have things to catch up on. You and I, we'll just have to make ourselves useful while he's busy, yeah?"

I nodded and ate as little as I could get away with before we were led by Al'iya to the front courtyard. She was chattering in Akari, and Sage seemed to catch a few words, but I was at a complete loss. I stayed near Sage until I realized why we were there. 

Warlord Geir and his mate were taking Jude and Harley back home with them, and Al'iya had led me to them to heal their souls just one more time. 

I moved out from behind Sage, kneeling to hug the children, who clung to me as if I were a lifeline. The prince exchanged a look with the Warlord, but they let me love on their new children for what I knew would be the last time. They— they would grow up and live long and happy lives with two fathers who adored them. I...I had a few days left, at most. 

I hummed for a few minutes but let them go to their fathers before too long. They both had healed and acclimated well, and I was grateful for whatever deity had given me my power; that I was able to help heal, in some small part, the evil my father had spread. 

When the little cart was out of sight, we were dragged by Al'iya to a hut only a meter from Ember's home. For the rest of the afternoon, I sat with Al'iya, Brin, Bek, and Tristan near the home Bek had been adopted into. We sat in a circle and wove the thatched roof for the room Count, Fern, and Sage were building onto the hut for Bek. 

When Sage had first offered his help with building, Brin had voiced Count and Fern's hesitation at a soldier building their home. 

"It's not that they don't want your help, Sage," Brin was quick to reassure. "But it's dirty, hard work, and dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. And neither can truly teach you, because of the barrier of language between you."

Rather than show any offense, Sage laughed, deep and heavy. "I'm a soldier by necessity, and a farmer by birth. I can't even count how many times I've built barns, or rebuilt sheds that have crumbled from time or weather. I'm sure I can keep up."

Count and Fern seemed surprised when Brin translated Sage's words, but they both smiled and gratefully accepted Sage's help. A few times, I even saw him explaining, in broken Akari and hand gestures, a different way to do one thing or another, and I was glad he seemed so happy and in his element. He was right— he wasn't a soldier. Not really. He was happy here, helping two men build onto their home to make room for their new son. 

I was happy, but also impossibly uncomfortable all day. For as the sun rose and shone down on the working men, they all removed their shirts. And I was left panting after Sage as he moved with rippling grace, his muscles straining, his body dotted and dripping with sweat. 

Brin and Al'iya teased my infatuation every time I froze in my own work, all of my being caught by the sight of Sage's naked skin moving seemingly just for my eyes to devour. The curve of his belly, the mouth watering trail of hair that led from the piercing in his belly button and down past the line of his pants, the muscles that seemed to stack atop each other on his arms and thighs. Gods, I wanted to map his body with my hands and fingers and tongue, with teeth and breath and soul.  

Gods, he's beautiful, I thought with a sigh. My fingers twitched to go to him, test out the liquid on his skin. Taste his thin, biteable lips. Drag him into the brush nearby and show him how proficient I was becoming at what he and Ember had been teaching me. 

I wanted to see how loud I could make him moan as he tried to keep himself quiet. 

Every few inches we completed of the thatch roof, Al'iya would weave in a little charm she had made from twigs, twine, herbs, and stones. Every time she did, Brin would explain what each meant. Some were figures of the gods— Alma, goddess of creation and family, to protect the boy. Ki, goddess of darkness, to keep out those who meant him harm. And Enlin, tragic god of the sky, who had favored mortals and loved them. And some were mystical amulets for protection and safety. 

"My son will be well protected," Brin said proudly. 

Every time the builders would come over for a short break and a drink of water, Sage would step to me. His lips brushed against mine, firmly but with a gentleness that made my chest tight, before he pulled away and drank his fill. Then he would wink, sometimes running his big hand down my back and cupping my ass, before following Fern and Count back to building the walls of the new attachment to the hut. 

When the sun was highest in the sky, the men brought out bread and meat from inside the hut and began to share it around the group. Just as Sage went to grab a bit for himself and me, Ember coughed from a ways away. In his arms he carried a loaf of bread and a hunk of aged cheese. 

I leapt up and ran to him, standing on my toes to kiss him, show him how I had missed him for the few hours he had been absent. 

He smiled down at me when I pulled away and whispered, "I missed you too, da'rin."

Sage followed a little slower, but he too was greeted with a kiss. He had to bend a little, where I had to practically jump to reach Ember's lips. 

"I brought you lunch," Ember said as he pulled away from Sage. He blushed heavily as Sage raised his brows and eyed the food. 

"Domesticated by two El'kahrians. Oh gods, I never thought I'd see the day," Brin called from behind us. Ember's blush deepened, but he only rolled his eyes and glared back at the woman and the various snickering, giggling Akarans behind us. 

"C'mon, let's go where we can have a little privacy."

Sage and I nodded and followed as Ember led us just a few feet away, to lean back against a few trees that dwarfed the family's small house. 

We ate in a quiet, comfortable silence. I sat between Ember's outstretched legs, and he fed me bites in between his own. Sage sat in front of me and did the same, and it couldn't have worked better if they had planned it— between the pleasure of their touch and their closeness, and the attention they were laving on me, I didn't even notice how much I was eating until my stomach was full and bloated. 

When Ember had to leave again, he kissed us both gently, then slapped Sage's ass with a wink before retreating back to the tribe's center. The laughter behind us at Ember's actions made Sage blush, but I had never been happier. Ember wasn't ashamed of us, wasn't acting as if last night hadn't happened. He was accepting the both of us in front of his tribe. 

My euphoria was short-lived. Before long, I remembered how much Ember was going to hate me, and all we had done together, once he knew who I really was, and my happiness couldn't survive past that remembrance. 

When the sun began to descend, a handful of people came towards us. At least a dozen men, and half as many women, with a handful of children giggling at their feet. Kye was among the children and I was glad to see it looked as if he had been taken in by someone— a woman held his hand, as well as another child's, about his same age, as she walked, heavily pregnant, towards us. 

Al'iya greeted the woman as Kye jumped towards me and the men moved to aid Fern, Count, and Sage. I immediately pulled Kye to my chest and began to sway and hum. Before long, I was surrounded by the children, all watching me sing my wordless song with bright eyes filled with curiosity and wonder. 

The roof having just barely been finished, the dozen men worked to pull up the walls, then place the roof. The women, Tristan, the children, and I stayed out of the builders way as they finished the room.


	24. Mast’rin

SAGE—

Fern and Count were adamant in their gratitude for my help, but I was glad to do it. It was good to be back to simple, hard work. Work that built and healed and made something beautiful— a place for a child who had never had his own space or family— rather than work that tore down and bloodied and devastated. It made me miss home, and for the first time it made me wonder if I was as sure as I needed to be that I wanted to make a life here. 

So much had changed in so short an amount of time, it was overwhelming to say the least. While I had originally planned to return home, that had changed to bringing Llyric with me when I went, and now with everything that had happened last night… 

Would I be happy here in Ember’s tribe? Was that even an option? Ember had said nothing about us leaving, but he hadn’t said anything about us staying either. He was open in his affections of both Llyric and me, but did that translate to the same thing here in Akar as it would in El’kahr— lifelong devotion? 

When we left the Brin, Fern, and Count home, Llyric very reluctantly setting Kye back with his new mother, I led him back to Ember’s home. The Akaran Tribal Chief’s home seemed to run similarly to a noble’s castle in El’kahr. There were a few who lived with the chief, who worked for him or the tribe. 

Al’iya had a suite of rooms similar to Ember’s which she now shared with Tristan; the chef and a handful of maids were a family unit who shared another suite of rooms, and a handful of others— hunters and farmers— lived either in the mansion or in small huts around it. The rest of the tribe was spread out for miles around. 

After we had both cleaned up from the day’s work outside in a water trough near the stable, we were met by Ember. He led us back to his room, where a meal was set out in the front living area. 

Llyric gasped and giggled happily, clapping his hands like a delighted child, but my own reaction was based on years of meaningless, physical-only relationships with men who couldn’t be seen in public with me. Years of secret trysts in back alleys and dirty, unmentionable places. 

Now this man, who had sworn to hate El’kahrians with every breath, had set up a romantic meal for me. The fire in the hearth and the candles around the room had me stopping in my tracks, staring around the room and wanting to run. 

I had never before had such a strong urge to escape. 

In El’kahr, same-sex relationships were seen as something of a necessary evil. A way for married men and women to cheat on their lawful spouse and not produce bastard children. Men and women like me, who not only preferred the same sex in both romance and sexual encounters, but maybe couldn’t even manage to fake being any other way, were seen as dirty and wrong, broken even. The men as weak, the women as cursed by the gods to never find a man to give them children— which was, of course, the only thing women were good for, as most El’kahrians saw it. 

There was something very _right_ about the way Akar viewed these same things so differently. As a normal part of life, as something not even discussed. No one even batted an eye when Count and Fern exchanged a kiss or a sweet caress, and there was something in that kind of peace that made it very easy for me to picture my future here, in this land of my enemies. 

I had only ever been in relationships, if you could call them that, with married men, or men whom I knew had plans for marriage once their time of freedom was over. And so I had never had candles and sweet words and flowers. I’d had rough sex in the dark, rough hands and lips and tongues rushing to pleasure. 

Llyric leapt up and kissed Ember in gratitude, but Ember’s eyes never left mine. Was that understanding, empathy even, in those dark depths?

“Come,” he said, his deep, thick voice gentler than I had ever heard it directed at me. Usually he only used that tone with Llyric. Did I really look that spooked? 

Ember helped Llyric down onto one of the cushion seats around the little, low table, and then moved back to me. 

“This is…” I began, but my throat closed up and I couldn’t continue.

“It’s just dinner, Sage,” Ember whispered, taking my hand and entwining our fingers. I looked down at our hands, then back up at him. 

“Not to me, it isn’t,” I answered. I was putting a lot of myself out for him, showing a lot of vulnerability. And that scared me. But it was also calming and invigorating at the same time, because somehow, I trusted him. 

I _wanted_ to trust him, at least. 

He studied my face for a few moments before he tugged on my hand and smiled. It was so rare to see Ember smile, it took me a minute to get my breath back. 

“Come eat, _mast’rin_ ,” he said. He pulled my hand up to his lips, placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles, and led me towards the table. 

“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice breaking in the middle of the sentence at the tenderness he showed in helping me to sit on one of the cushions. 

“Mate,” he replied with a wink. 

EMBER—

It only took Sage and I sitting beside him before Llyric was moving to sit between Sage’s legs. He and I chuckled, but neither of us would deny the boy his need for affection and touch, so we left him be. 

Like we had at lunch, we took turns giving bites to Llyric. To our disappointment, it didn’t work as well this time, and before long he was squirming in Sage’s arms, his ass slowing thrusting back against Sage’s undoubtedly frustrated cock. 

As we ate, Sage told us of his farm back home, and having to join the military due to his father finding out about his predilection towards men. He finally explained why he was favored by the queen— of his defiance of an order given by his captain Aron, the man I had met. In the middle of their war with us, the contingent of soldiers Sage was in had won a small skirmish against Akaran warriors. The warriors had surrendered and about a dozen were captured. 

“War prisoners were supposed to be sent to a war camp away from the border,” Sage explained, “but Aron ordered me and a handful of other men to execute the prisoners. They hadn’t tried to escape, or caused any problems, but Aron was lazy— traveling to the war camp would have taken time he thought would be better spent. 

“I and a few other men refused the order, and when Aron asked for others to do the task instead, I defended the Akaran warriors and helped a few escape.”

Sage paused, and I knew he was holding a lot back from his story. It couldn’t have been an easy thing, to not only fight against his own men— many likely friends he’d fought beside— but to then help the enemy escape? 

He continued the story, finishing it quickly and succinctly. 

He had been taken into custody by his own men, and thrown in with the Akaran prisoners. He had managed to help the remaining Akarans escape, and when Aron came the next morning to execute the men, Sage was the only one left. 

For his deeds, he had been demoted, beaten, and for the remainder of the war he was set on the front lines as punishment. 

For them to have not executed him showed how very influential he must have been, and what a great warrior. They didn’t want him turned into a martyr. They wanted him shamed, and then killed by the very people he had tried to protect. 

“Why didn’t you tell me this, when we met? Or anytime since then?” I asked, aghast that he had done so much for my people and I had hated him for being an El’kahrian soldier. 

“People should be together not because of their deeds, but because of who they are,” he replied with a shrug. I frowned when I noticed Llyric flinch heavily at the words.

I spoke a little of my own upbringing as the future Chief of the Starwind Tribe, but as I spoke I could see Sage twitch and grimace a few times, and I almost reached over to pull the squirming, twisting Llyric into my arms. I could see how his ass was rubbing sensuously up Sage’s cock and back down again. Before I could, Llyric stood and stared down at us both, his intent clear in his eyes. 

As he stepped away, towards my bedchamber, Sage groaned and stood. 

“That man will be the death of me,” he whined as he followed the younger man obediently.


	25. Stretch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Smutty, smut, smut ahead. Enjoy ;)*****

EMBER—

I followed my mates back into my— our— bedchamber, and watched with heady satisfaction as Llyric let Sage push him gently back onto the bed of furs. Within moments, Llyric was humming his sweet songs of pleasure as Sage writhed atop the smaller man, his gorgeous ass straining as he sensuously thrust against Llyric's body beneath him. 

"Llyric, sweetheart," Sage whimpered against Llyric's lips as Llyric's voice pitched and warbled. "That's amazing, sweetheart. I can feel your song inside me."

Llyric's song hitched with excitement, and he chirruped in answer to Sage's words. 

I climbed up onto the bed furs, plastering myself up against Sage's back. He reached behind himself, grabbing my thighs to hold me close to his body, and I laved my lips and tongue and teeth against his neck. 

"Maybe it's time we give Llyric's hole a rest and I break yours in," I murmured against his neck, dragging my teeth along the shell of his ear. 

"Yes, Ember," Sage whispered as I let my fingers trail down to his crack and teased against the sensitive nerves there. "Yes, I want you. Inside me. Yes, Ember, please."

I pressed my fingers against Sage's hole, shuddering as he moaned as I gently put pressure on his sensitive skin, the sound coming out muffled and wet, and I realized he and Llyric were connected at the mouth, tongues and lips playing. 

I leaned over and grabbed the oil from the small table beside my bed, ready to open my burly lover for my cock, but I was stopped by Llyric's hand on my wrist. He met my eyes, and I looked between him and Sage, my brow furrowed. Sage looked just as confused, pulling himself up and a bit away from Llyric, as if preparing to stop if that was what Llyric wanted. 

Llyric's hand came down to circle my cock, and he stroked once, making me buck into his palm, then he moved to do the same to Sage. And then his fingers were at his hole, a little swollen from our previous night's escapades. 

As always with Llyric, I understood what he was trying to convey without words very easily. And I knew Sage had as well when the big man pulled away completely from Llyric, leaving the young man spread out like a feast against the furs, looking up pleadingly at the two of us. 

"Llyric," Sage began, reluctance heady in his voice. "It's too much, too soon. I... I don't want to hurt you, sweet boy."

I searched Llyric's eyes, trying to find his desire and study it. He stared back into my eyes, an open book for my perusal, except... not. He was letting me inside, allowing me to see everything, but something was held back. Something that darkened his soul just beneath the surface of his skin. Something he feared and kept from me.

However, what had me agreeing with a nod was that what he hid was not fear of me, nor of Sage, and his desire was pure. Pure and desperate. He wanted us both to take him. He wanted us both to be inside of him, pressing his body to its limits, because he needed that care and devotion from the both of us this night. He needed us to wrap our bodies around his own, hold him safe and loved in our arms, and prove to him and each other that he was ours. By marking him completely, giving him just that bit of pain with his pleasure to make it all the more visceral and real. To make our lovemaking ache, but only in the way that proved to his mind and soul that we weren't leaving him, he was safe, and he was loved. 

Gods, was he ever loved. 

Sage hesitated for only a moment longer than I did before he was meeting my eyes and nodding. 

"I'll get your pretty ass some other time, _mast'rin_ ," I growled, and Sage shivered. 

"And I yours," he shot back, making a bolt of arousal shoot down my spine. 

I'd never had another man inside my body, but oh, fucking hell yes, I'd submit to either of my mates if that was what they wanted of me. I'd let them both inside of me, just as Llyric wanted from us, so that I too could feel that bone-aching warmth of being surrounded and devoured and wholly taken. 

"Mmm," I growled, my mouth slanting over Sage's, my lips teasing his tantalizingly. "Yes please."

We pulled away and turned to Llyric, Sage reaching a hand out to cup beside me, a gesture asking me for the oils. I poured a bit into his palm, then my own, and while he worked to stretch Llyric, their bodies entwined, their tongues tangling in wet, sucking sounds that made me groan, I fingered and penetrated Sage. 

Just because his ass wouldn't be mine tonight, didn't mean I couldn't play with it and tease it while he opened our younger mate up for us. 

Sage's body was pliant and willing beneath my hands, a shiver visibly rolling down his spine as I pressed my slick forefinger against his hole and slipped it inside. I began a steady press inside, then out, back in again, loving the feeling of his tight, hot channel milking my finger as I pictured it was my cock inside my beautiful Sage's body. 

Gods, I wanted that. I wanted _him_. 

"This is my third finger, sweet boy," Sage murmured, pulling back enough to gaze into Llyric's eyes. His voice sounded strained, and I held back a laugh as I slid my finger against his prostate and watched his entire body shudder. "I'm going to put one more in, then Ember's going to help me stretch you out just a little bit more for us. You feeling alright?"

I looked around Sage's shoulder just as Llyric nodded, his eyes wide, shot through with a lust and a desperation I wanted to jump inside, devour with teeth and tongue and my whole soul. Gods, the man was like a siren, a sex god, all bedroom eyes and cock-sucking lips. 

"Ember," Sage reprimanded as I laughed against his back. Another few passes right on his prostate had the man looking back at me over his shoulder. Llyric giggled up at me, his eyes shining with mirth. "That's enough play back there. C'mon, help me get our lover prepared for our penetration into his sweet body."

I growled in arousal at his words— gods Sage's dirty mouth had me nearing my edge— and moved towards Llyric's waist. 

"I've got four fingers inside of him, and I've sort of been scissoring him. But neither of us are small, and..." he paused, looking from Llyric to me, then back again, then back to me. "Are you sure we should do this? Gods, Ember, I cant hurt him."

"We won't," I promised, and Llyric made a small sound of assent. "We'll be careful, we'll stretch him enough so it will be safe." Turning to Llyric, I forced him to meet my gaze before I continued. "And if it hurts too much, if it isn't pleasurable, he'll tell us. Won't you, _da'rin_?"

Llyric nodded, then turned to Sage and nodded even more fervently. 

"You promise, sweet boy? If it hurts, you'll tell us?"

Llyric nodded again, then put his hand over his heart in a sweet, endearing gesture. 

"Alright," Sage conceded. "Give me your fingers then, Ember. I think we need to stretch him just a bit more."

Only a few minutes later, much less time that Sage liked, I think, I pulled away and put my fingers to Sage's wrist. 

"He's ready, _mast'rin_ ," I murmured. "Do you want top or bottom?"

"Bottom," he replied without hesitation. "I want to hold him."

I chuckled and nodded, then held Llyric up as Sage lay on his back against the bed furs, his head and upper body propped up by various pillows behind him. When he was situated, I maneuvered Llyric so he was straddling our big man, their hard, dripping cocks colliding and making them both pant and moan. 

"Help me put my cock inside him," Sage whispered, his words almost reverent, quiet and pleading. 

I nodded, though he couldn't see me, and moved behind my men. I gripped Sage's cock and, after slicking it with a copious amount of oil, I held it up and sturdy as Llyric lowered his ass down onto Sage's lap. Llyric's back bowed, his eyes fluttering shut and his head falling back as he panted up at the ceiling. His entire body was nearly limp, his fingers threaded with Sage's just above Sage's chest. 

"So good, sweet boy. You're so hot, and tight, and fuck! beautiful. You're perfect for me, my sweet Llyric." 

Sage hipped up a few times, his prick sliding in and out of Llyric's well-stretched hole, before I laid a hand on Llyric's back and pressed him down gently. He let me lead him down, so his ass was presented to me, Sage's cock protruding from the tight space. 

"Hold still for me, _mast'rins_ ," I mumbled, my eyes riveted to the spot where my mates were connected as I rubbed oil up and down my cock, slicking myself up. I stared as I prepared myself. Stared at where I longed to be, and would be soon. "Just for a minute, and then we can move all we want."

Llyric whimpered as I pressed my cock to his pucker, just above Sage's, but the sight of his hole, clenching so tightly against Sage's, worried me. 

"You're still too tight, _da'rin_ ," I whispered as I pulled back and replaced my cock with my fingers. "Give me just a few minutes more, and we'll make you fly."

Llyric made a sweet sound of assent and I got to work, my fingers pressing in around Sage's cock, making both Llyric and Sage rock against me. I pressed little kisses against Llyric's back and neck, unable to stop myself from tasting his expanses of pretty, though heavily scarred, skin. He was my very own feast of sultry, addictive, warm body, and I took advantage. 

It wasn't long before I had a few fingers up inside of Llyric alongside Sage's cock. 

"Please, Ember," Sage grumbled, his voice sounding hoarse. "I need to fuck or I'm going to go mad. Put your prick beside mine, and let's show our lover to whom he belongs."

Llyric's entire body jerked and he cried out, dribbles of precum dripping to pool against Sage's belly piercing.

I chuckled. 

"Our mate has the dirtiest mouth, doesn't he, _da'rin_?" I nuzzled my nose against Llyric's ear and his breath caught as he nodded. "And you like his dirty words as much as I do, don't you?"

Llyric nodded frantically, his cock jerking up and twitching as he closed his eyes, his head falling back to roll against my shoulder. When he twisted his face towards me and placed a gentle kiss against my neck, I nearly lost total control. 

" _Mine_!" I hissed in Akari as I pressed myself inside of Llyric, just atop Sage's cock. The way Llyric clenched around me, and Sage's hot cock rubbed against the sensitive underside of my own prick, had me crying out and gripping the base of my cock to keep myself from coming. 

I was only halfway in, unable to move further for the tightness of Llyric's heat around me. 

"You alright?" I whispered as I hung over Llyric's back, my face pressed against the back of his neck. 

Llyric nodded against me, but held one hand up in a "wait" gesture. 

"As long as you need, sweet boy," Sage agreed, and I nodded against Llyric's neck. 

"You feel so good, _da'rin_ ," I murmured against his skin. "And you, Sage. Gods, your cock is throbbing against mine."

Sage's chuckle vibrated through Llyric and up to me, making me pull away and glare down at my mate below Llyric, who still held Llyric's hands, their fingers entwined. Llyric was using Sage's grip on him to hold his upper body up, his lower body pressed between us, his toes curled against my shins, his thighs rubbing against Sage's hips. 

"You ready for more, _da'rin_?" I asked, and when Llyric looked back at me, his eyes rimmed with tears, his face red with exertion, and his mouth in a wide, pleased smile, I returned his smile. 

And with his nod, I began to press further inside of him.


	26. Visions and Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Guys, trigger warning. I always have a hard time putting these up, because I don't want to give too much information and spoil things, but I also don't want you to read it and have a hard time with it because I wasn't clear. So... I tend to go with maybe too much info. If you don't want a spoiler, and you don't really have triggers, just scroll past the next part of this note and start the chapter :) 
> 
> Trigger warning: In this chapter there is a full-on memory (so not just Llyric telling a story, it's a memory with details) about his father attempting to rape him when he was really young. It is attempted rape, and doesn't get very far, but his fear and stuff is detailed. If this triggers you, feel free to read the Llyric section, but when it turns italic and goes to Sage's POV, go ahead and skip it. You're not missing anything, really, because they kind of talk about it in the next chapter. Just know that Llyric's Father tries to rape him, Llyric basically says "no, don't touch me," and his father can't touch him. So he calls for guards to come get Llyric (which is how he ended up in the dungeon Sage and Ember found him in)*****

LLYRIC—

There was pain— of course there was— but it was, if it was possible, a good kind of pain. Hot and aching and mixing with the pleasure so closely, I couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. My entire body was throbbing, and the gods only knew if it was with pleasure or pain. 

Ember took his time pressing himself fully inside of me. Before he was in to the hilt, he and Sage began to rock, and their thrusts dug my Akaran mate further and further inside me, until he was as securely inside my body as Sage. Until they were moving as one, so thick inside me I keened, overwhelmed and ecstatic and gods, so many things I couldn't find the words for. 

I felt loved. Devoured. Surrounded. Taken. Defiled. Used. Owned. Safe. Cared for. 

Gods, I was just... everything. I was whole and complete in a way I knew I didn't deserve. 

But I was going to be selfish, and take this as mine. Take _them_ as mine. Just for now. Just for as long as I godsdamned could. 

"Oh gods, sweet boy," Sage growled, and his deep, intense tenor had sparks dancing down my spine. He let my hands go and was gripping my hips, using me as leverage to thrust his hips up into me. I knew both of my mates were being gentle, their humps inside my body slower and easier than either wanted, but I was grateful for that. For their care and devotion for me. 

I held myself up with one hand on Sage's chest, the other held back by Ember. Ember's body nearly engulfed my back, his left arm around my chest, holding me to him, his right gripping my own arm and using my body as leverage to push himself inside of me. 

I was at their mercy, wholly and completely. Held down, overpowered, held tight as they used my body for their pleasure. 

And returned so much more. 

My own prick had softened a little when Ember had first penetrated me, the burn intense before I began to get used to the feeling. But now it was hard and leaking copiously against Sage's belly, another way we were connected— by a string of my precum. I knew it was impossible, but I had the strange thought that my men reached so far inside me, the tips of their pricks were pressing inside my chest, just near my heart. It was impossible, but I could _feel it_. Feel _them_ , up there, right where they belonged. 

My cries egged my men on, making them both groan and thrust harder. I knew the power in my voice, but I had very little control over it, especially now, when I was so wholly overwhelmed and my brain could process nothing more than nonsense. 

" _Da'rin_ ," Ember moaned against my hot skin, drips of sweat from his face mixing with my own as his fingers dug into my arm and upper shoulder. " _Da'rin_ , fuck! You're... gods, you're like a furnace. I could never leave your sweet hole and I'd die happy."

I whimpered and lowered my head to Ember's arm around my chest. I pressed my face against his arm, then bit it as a particularly harsh thrust had my prostate aching. I was nearly constantly streaming precum as my mates' cocks made room inside my body, their cocks constantly pressing and slamming against that bundle of nerves inside my body. 

"You feel good, sweet boy?" Sage asked, one of his hands moving from my hips to my groin, reaching down between our squished bodies to finger my balls. I screamed against Ember's arm, and my Akaran mate grunted in pain as I bit down even harder against his muscled forearm. "You like our pricks dancing together inside of your warm, welcoming body? You like our cocks making room inside your body for our pleasure?"

I moaned, long and drawn out, and both of my mates mirrored the sound as my voice shot pleasure inside of them. 

I had little power over my voice, but that— that I'd done on purpose. 

"That voice of yours will be the death of me, sweet boy," Sage gasped, his eyes slamming shut as his thrusts up inside my body became a little more manic. 

Little did he know how much I feared that. 

I knew what my voice had done in the past, and not even I knew the depths of its power. 

"Are you ready to drink our seed with your tight hole, _da'rin_?" Ember asked against my neck, his tongue dancing along my spine before moving up and around to tug against my ear with his teeth. I turned my head to him, and without a word his mouth immediately consumed mine. 

Ember and Sage's thrusts were becoming erratic, frantic, harsh, and nearly violent when Sage pulled his hand from my balls and gripped my cock. One stroke was all I needed, and I was screaming against Ember's lips. My entire body froze, my eyes rolling back in my head, my back arching, and my scream agonized as I spurted my pleasure against Sage's belly and his startled fingers. 

Both of my mates came immediately, at the exact same time, and the pull on my power told me my scream had done it. It had reached inside of them and wrenched the orgasm through them as violently as mine had torn through me. 

Sage cried out my name, Ember sobbed into my mouth, and then something else tugged against my mind, and my scream turned into... something else. 

Something not so pleasant as a powerful orgasm. Something like a scream of triumph, of victory, of rebellious rage. 

I had triumphed over Father and his plans for me. He had wanted me, and I'd given myself away to other men. Men who loved and cherished and used me in oh, the best ways. 

For my pleasure. 

For theirs. 

For the connection the act brought. 

The affection it proved. 

The love it strengthened. 

Men who ensured I enjoyed every moment with them, the way Father never would have even thought to consider. Men who fucked my body, but also loved my mind and my heart and cherished my soul. 

Men whom I _chose_ and who _chose me_. 

It was a powerful feeling, this freedom and ability to choose. 

Unfortunately, the scream of orgasm turning into the other one carried all of the emotions I was feeling over. Everything my mates had made me feel during this coupling moved to the background behind the rage. So that when my orgasm receded just a bit, and my scream began to quiet, something left me and entered my mates. 

Something dark. Something hateful. 

Something I never wanted them to see. 

My power forced something from my heart inside of theirs. My power gave them _Father._

SAGE—

_The image was blurry at best, seen through eyes that didn't fully comprehend everything around them. Little hands came into view, small enough to be a very young child's, the wrists rolled with baby fat. The hands plucked at a rich, embroidered tunic, pulling it down in a nervous gesture that had my chest clenching tight with sympathy pain._

_The child sat on the edge of a large bed, dark curtains obscuring the rest of the room, and the smell of something thick and strong, cloying, made the child's head spin with something that made him sleepy but uncomfortable at the same time. He didn't like the way his brain felt light and airy, and he could barely keep his eyes open, even as he began to hear movement from outside the curtains._

_A man came into view, and fear scorched through me. No. Not me. Through the child._

_I recognized the man, though the last time I had seen him— hogtied outside of his own castle— he had been at least 20 years older than the man before me. His skin now was just a bit less sallow, his hair lightened with less gray. The Monster watched me— the boy— with the hungriest look in his eyes. As if the child was a four course meal after a month of fasting_. 

Dear gods, _I thought_ , is this a _memory?_ Llyric's memory?

_The child whimpered as the Monster, his eyes wide with lust and a feral kind of darkness, pressed the child back and forced him to scoot back against the bed. The man's hand came out to grab the boy's legs, pulling him toward his much bigger body. My vision blurred as the child began to sob, his tears pooling in his eyes before spilling over, crying out and begging for the man to stop._

_"No, Father, no!" the boy whimpered, and I recognized the voice, though it was deeper, warmer, smoother now. I could never mistake the musical, husky tint to that angelic tone. And there was something in it as it drifted past my ears, something about the way the child's body felt tired, almost drained when the words came from his mouth, that I knew something was happening I didn't understand. "Don't! Don't hurt me! Don't touch me!"_

_The man jerked back as if burned, then threw himself away from the child, his chest heaving._

_"What the_ fuck?" _the Monster growled before pushing forward, as if to grab the boy again, then yanking his fingers back once more. As if the boy was a fire he couldn't bear to touch. "What the fuck did you do, you little whore?"_

_"Father!" the boy sobbed, shaking his head and making the world twist and tumble in my vision through his eyes. "Father, I'm sorry! I'm scared! Don't—" he hiccuped, his sobs stealing his breath as he rose to his knees, his hands out as if to placate his father. "Please don't hurt me like you did Mama."_

_The Monster's eyes flashed with a rage so feral I wanted nothing more than to grab the child and hide him away, terrified of what he would do now that he was being prevented from taking what he thought of as his._

_Though I knew the ending to this, it didn't help my stuttering heart as the Monster leapt from the bed and bellowed for his guards._

_"You're_ mine," _he hissed down at the violently shaking child. "And I'll have you. You're going to learn what happens when someone thinks to keep from me what is mine."_


	27. The Power In His Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** It's a short one, ya'll :) *****

EMBER—

The vision had been vivid, visceral, and agonizing. On the backs of the near-crippling orgasm I'd had, I could only pull out of Llyric's body as gently as possible, flinching as my sensitive prick rubbed up against Sage's, before falling back and lying prone on my back. 

I could hear rustling as Sage did the same, tipping over into Llyric's side as we left the boy sobbing as he came down from his own violent orgasm. I could hear Sage making soft, nearly silent shushing noises, but with the way my mind swam and my limbs trembled, I couldn't move to help him calm Llyric down. 

His screams and moans had brought about the vision, of that I was sure. I was also sure of one other thing: he had not meant to share the memory. 

After a few minutes, my breathing had calmed and Llyric's sobs had died down. He and Sage had positioned themselves so Llyric lay back against Sage's broad chest, Sage's arms wrapped limply around the smaller man. Their limbs were twisted, and Llyric was a little off-center from Sage's body, but it seemed the best they'd been able to do. I was able to crawl up and dig my face into Llyric's belly, his fingers coming up to dig into my hair and hold me to him. 

Llyric made a soft, apologetic chirrup, and I nodded against him. 

"I'm alright. We're ok, _da'rin_ ," I said, my voice cracking. 

"That's why the Monster bound your mouth?" Sage asked, his own voice hoarse. I couldn't tell how much of our overwhelmed bodies and minds was due to the connection and intimacy of our lovemaking; due to sharing Llyric between us and being so connected at such a deep and primal level. And how much was due to the memory he had inadvertently shared with us as he came. 

"His power comes from his voice," I said when I felt Llyric nod at Sage's question. "It makes sense that the Monster would bind his jaw shut to keep him helpless."

Llyric nodded again, and I had a sudden flash of insight. If it was directly from him, or just puzzle pieces dropping into place, I couldn't be sure. But I knew my next words without doubt. 

"That's why you still won't talk, isn't it? You fear your power. You're afraid you'll hurt or influence someone."

The boy stiffened and I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling up to rest my chin against his stomach. Sage held the boy against his chest and his brows rose high at my words. I met Llyric's eyes as he nodded hesitantly. 

I kissed his stomach to show my understanding of his fear, and I heard him and Sage exchange a few kisses as I lay my head back against his soft, heavily scarred belly. 

SAGE—

We made love once more that night, with both Ember and I taking turns inside Llyric, making sure he knew how we felt, and that he felt safe and secure. I tried with my touch to show him he wasn't alone, and I would be there for him to help him through his pain and his fear. While I fucked him, Ember was kneeling over him, his mouth around Llyric's cock, then fiddling with the jewels pierced through his nipples. 

Llyric came twice more, once with me inside of him, and the second time just as Ember came deep inside of his ass. We fell to sleep in a jumble of tangled limbs and exhausted bodies. 

And woke in terror. 

If I'd had any remaining doubt that Llyric had power in his voice, it would have been dispelled by the way my heart clenched and my entire body heaved with nausea and absolute dread as Llyric screamed and sobbed at my side. 

I jumped up and shook the younger man awake as I watched Ember wake and saw the fear go through his body as well. Llyric stopped screaming, his eyes flying open and his hands coming out to scratch at me, pulling me closer and clinging to me. I let him fall against my skin, his body shaking violently as he began babbling nonsense noises. 

Ember's body engulfed us both as we rocked Llyric, both of us making shushing, soothing noises, trying to calm him down. As his shaking and crying decreased, so did the fear overwhelming my body. 

None of us slept another second that night.


	28. The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** **Trigger warning: mentions of suicide, pedophilia, and basically Butcger just being creepy-creepy. But just mentions— nothing detailed or anything.*******

SAGE—

The next week passed in a blur. Llyric and I spent our days learning Akari, and Akaran stories and traditions and the ways of life in the tribe, from Brin and Al'iya. Since I had a baseline of Akari, it wasn't long before I was picking up words and phrases. Since Llyric still refused to speak, I could only hope he too was beginning to understand the language as there was no way to gauge his progress in that regard. Though from the understanding in his eyes, and the way he sometimes directed me when Brin or Al'iya said something I didn't quite catch, I thought he was doing just fine. Better than me, most likely. 

Brin and Al'iya taught us their language and culture while we helped them in their daily duties. I was used as basically a pack mule and high-place-reacher, and Llyric's soft hands were perfect for Brin's gentle work. He became quite adept at threading her looms for her, and even tried his hand at a colored quilt.  

When we spent the day with Al'iya, we tended her garden, helped her mix her poultices and potions, searched the nearby forest for wild herbs, and even attended her to a few homes and farms to aid with the sick or injured. 

My and Llyric's relationship with their Chief wasn't a secret, it seemed, as we were met in every home with open arms and a lot of food. 

"Gods, these Akarans like to try to fatten up their guests," I joked to Llyric. Brin laughed as I made the observation aloud. 

"You're the future mates to their Chief. They're trying to make sure you like them."

The words sobered both Llyric and me. I wasn't sure what Llyric was thinking, but the words frightened me just a bit. Was I really so ready to simply never return home? With being the mate to an Akaran Tribal Chief? To uproot my entire life, for his? 

Each evening we ate in either Ember's suite or the dining room with the other members of the household. The chef, Smetikan— Kan, he had said to call him— a man with paler skin than normal for an Akaran, took in Llyric's skin and bones appearance the first time we met him and seemed to make it his mission in life to make the most fattening food he could think of. My waistline objected and I feared I might have to let out my belt from all the rich food, but it helped Llyric not at all. 

Each night, we made love on Ember's furs. The night after we had shared Llyric's ass, Ember fucked me while I sucked Llyric to multiple orgasms. We hadn't wanted to push Llyric and hurt him, although it took some convincing. The boy seemed determined to spend as much time with us inside him as possible. He even managed to drag me into the brush a few times, dropping to his knees and very quickly bringing me to orgasm down his throat. I caught him doing the same to Ember one day after lunch, and I wondered how he had the stamina when he constantly looked as if he may fall over from malnutrition and exhaustion. 

For he wasn't sleeping, as far as I could tell. 

When he did manage to fall to sleep, he never failed to wake after too short a time, screaming. His wordless babblings quickly turned into wordless begging. After the first time, Ember and I never had his power overwhelm us again. I wasn't sure if it was because he was aware of it and holding it back, or if it was some resistance to it on our part. His cries still woke us, and we had to start taking turns sitting up and rocking him, holding him, so we could take turns getting some sleep. 

The shadows under his eyes grew darker. His rib bones protruded through his chest and belly as well as his back, and his eyes grew duller as time went on. 

"If it weren't for Llyric," Al'iya told me, through Brin, when I went to her on the third day we had been in Akar, desperate for an answer. "This is likely how all of the children would be. Instead, look at them— they flourish. Kye already nearly speaks fluent Akari, his mother says he sleeps through the nights and only occasionally flinches back from his father. And Tristan— gods, Sage, look at him. Yes, he's afraid of touch, and likely will be for a time to come, but he's learning a trade, he spends his days nearly singing with happiness. But your boy..." 

She paused, her eyes sad and withdrawn. "He has to fight through the trauma without the aid of magic. On top of that, he took the pain of each of the children into himself. That in itself must have taken a great toll on him. It's going to take him time, and you and Ember need to hold onto your patience and your love for him."

She agreed to make him a sleeping potion, but it only made him groggy and irritable in the morning, and if it was possible, more clingy as he fell to sleep under the effects of the herbs. 

At all times, one or both of us had to be touching Llyric, or at least nearby. If we weren't, he would begin to fall into himself, stare off at nothing, and his hands would begin to shake. He would act as if he was trying to calm himself, as if he could barely sit still for whatever was running through his mind and soul. 

Through it all, Ember and I stayed as patient as Al'iya had implored us to be. We kept Llyric close, listened to his silence for clues as to how he was feeling, and kept him as fed as he would allow. 

Despite my worries for Llyric, and they weren't small, I had never been happier. Ember still hadn't said anything about us staying permanently, and we never talked about the future, but I grew to love and respect him as much as I already loved and cherished Llyric. We spent our nights in near-perfect bliss, and our days sneaking kisses and moments of intimacy. Ember frequently escaped his duties to come eat with us, or just sit quietly with us as we watched the sun set. 

I had never had such happiness. Such peace. Despite Llyric's battle with his traumas, he laughed often, kissed us both sweetly, and smiled gently, and we were genuinely happy. Because we were together, and we were working through his fears and pains. 

We were happy. 

Until the day the messenger from El'kahr, from Queen Hestiel, was spotted by tribal scouts. I turned back when the scout had left us after telling Ember what he had seen, and Llyric was gone. 

I was a little worried about Llyric leaving— he had never willingly left my or Ember's side, but I was distracted when Ember pulled me towards the mansion and we met the El'kahrian messenger as he skidded to a stop in the courtyard. 

"Missive for Captain Sage of Ban'daor, from Hestiel, Queen of El'kahr," the messenger said, his chest heaving with exertion. He lowered himself off his horse, his eyes flickering to the Akarans around him warily. 

"I'm Sage," I called, moving to take the letter. 

As I opened it, I could hear Ember telling the messenger he could stay the night if he wanted, rest before he had to return. The man seemed surprised, but took Ember up on the offer. The horse was led to the stables by one of the house men— a man I had met multiple times but could never remember his name. In my defense, I had met more people in the last two weeks than in years of my existence before now. 

Elf'i, one of the maids who was mated to Chef Kan, and one of the few who spoke any El'kahrian, led the messenger back into the mansion. 

As I tuned out everything around me and read what Queen Hestiel had written, my hands began to shake, the week of happiness and bliss, passion and desire behind me becoming a fading memory as I realized how Ember would react to the contents of the letter. 

And finally understood Llyric and why he had never fully opened himself up to either of us. Why he acted as if each day was his last in our arms. And why he likely ran away when word of the messenger was brought to us. 

_Captain Sage,_

_I write to you with a heavy heart, praying to all the gods listening that this reaches you in time to stop any unnecessary pain or confusion._

_Firstly, Lord Butcger has stood trial and been found guilty of rape, murder, treason, and conspiracy, and has been sentenced to death by hanging. I plan to let a few of his past victims have a few days with him beforehand, to ensure justice is properly served and he suffers as he so deserves to._

_I know you're a man of staunch and unyielding morals and principles, so I won't go into details about what these men and women plan for our esteemed Lord Butcger, but suffice it to say he will not die a whole man. He will not die a sane man. And he will die in as much agony as I can possibly ensure he feels._

_Now, onto the child you wrote me regarding._

_Despite hiding the boy's existence his entire life, I've uncovered that the boy you found in the dungeons of Butcger's keep is called Llyric, and he is the son of Butcger's loins._

_You may feel the same disbelief as I did when I first heard these words, as Butcger has never spoken of having an heir, nor has there been even a hint of rumor of him having a son, but I now know them to be true. They were told to me by one of the prisoners you sent my way for incarceration and justice. She is called only Nanny, and she is a woman in the last years of her life. She had been the victims of the Defiler's governess, their tutor, their caretaker, possibly since he first discovered his disgusting attraction towards our most vulnerable: our children. She seems near proud of all the children she has "raised," and doesn't seem at all ashamed of how she kept them clean and well-fed for a monster._

_Nanny spoke almost fondly of Llyric, telling of how beautiful he was as a child— the child of one of Butcger's favorites. A girl by the name of Music, who was sold to the Defiler when she was barely old enough to walk to pay off a debt. The mother, Nanny said, was barely 13 when she slit her own wrists, only days after giving birth to Butcger's child. She stayed long enough to name the boy, sing to him for days on end, then took her life with a dull knife she had stolen from one of the trays of food brought to her cot._

_Nanny says: "Llyric drove his father to distraction with his beauty, his sensual grace. His mama was the same way. Drew those to her that otherwise would have seen her as but a child. The boy was made for his father, made to be his best and his favorite. But something went wrong, his father couldn't touch him, couldn't make him his own, and so he punished the boy. For 17 years, he punished him in the dark for what the master couldn't have."_

_Captain, I am almost sick writing these words, but I need you to have all of the information I can provide to you. As you know, the laws of El'kahr do not seek to punish the son for the father's sins. But those in Akar may feel differently. If the rumors of that Chief Ember are true, he may not suffer the boy to live._

_Come back to Veil, Captain, as quickly as you can. Bring the boy. He won't have a home here in the capital, for there are far too many who would never let him live in peace, but we'll find a place for him. For the both of you, if what I sensed from your letter is true and you do feel something for this Llyric._

_All that being said, I've taken Butcger's wealth and distributed it among his past victims that I know of who still live in El'kahr, as well as sending some to Chief Ember to do the same for the children the Akarans have taken in. But there is some left I had planned to give to a worthy noble here— including his castle. These I would, of course, bestow on Llyric, as rightful heir to the wealth remaining of Lord Butcger. Please inform him of this, and let me know when he would like to meet and speak of what he is entitled in his inheritance._

_Sincerely and with the deepest regard and respect,_

_Hestiel, Queen of El'kahr_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ******EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP cliffhanger! 🙈🙈*****


	29. Sins of the Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****All right, peeps. If suicide stuff isn't a trigger for you and you don't want a spoiler, continue on, don't read the next part of this, and start reading. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: attempted suicide written out with pretty decent detail. Please skip over the "Llyric" section if you need to. The others should be ok to read, except maybe Sage's. He describes finding Llyric. But it's pretty brief. Up to you * shrugs *
> 
> I didn't purposely do two cliffhangers in a row. It just kind of happened that way. Sorry!!*****

EMBER—

I had never known such rage as I did when I read the letter from the queen. Sage had let the letter drop to his waist after staring at it for a frustrating amount of time, and I had pried it from his fingers when my patience wore thin. 

And immediately regretted it. I wished I could go back, never read it, live my life with my mates at my side, and never know that the blood in Llyric's veins was dirtied and muddied with horror and disgustingly vile lusts. 

"He's... he's innocent, Ember," Sage said softly, his eyes wide as I looked up at him. Could he see my horror? My absolute rage?

"Oh gods, I fucked him," I growled, nausea rising up my throat as I took a dozen steps back and nearly lost everything I had eaten that day against the stones of my courtyard. "I... I kissed him, and—"

"— _Fuck_ you," Sage hissed with vehemence. "How _dare_ you? He is _not_ his father's son! That monster kept him chained in a _dungeon_ for nearly two _decades_ , Ember! Llyric would... gods, he'd never hurt a soul, much less a child!"

"It doesn't matter!" I bellowed. "His blood is dirty, Sage! This kind of evil, it has to be purged completely. It can't be allowed to fester and live!"

Sage's face lost any grace of emotion except shock and horror as he stared into my eyes. I clutched the letter in my fist, trying to keep it from shaking. 

_My Llyric_ , I wanted to moan. To mourn. _My sweet, innocent, loving, needing mate. How is this possible?_

"You will hurt that sweet boy over my dead body, Akaran," Sage bit out, his voice firm but dead of emotion. He stared at me as if I was a complete stranger who had just slapped his face. 

Or worse: a lover who had betrayed him. 

"Sage, it's..." I began, but I couldn't finish. I took a few more steps back, horrified when I realized both Brin and Al'iya, along with Tristan and Bek, stood watching us. Bek was terrified, clinging to his mother with wide eyes and trembling lips, but Tristan looked... knowing. 

He'd known. Or guessed, at least, who Llyric was. 

_What_ he was.

Al'iya glared at me as if I was in the wrong, but she didn't know. She couldn't understand until I told her. 

Oh gods, I couldn't tell her. I couldn't tell any of them. They would think his filth had rubbed off on me. I would be dirty and defiled in their eyes. 

"Would he..." Sage began, seeming to loosen just a bit. He looked around, then back at me with a lost look in his eyes. "Would he hurt himself?"

It wasn't until then I realized Llyric wasn't there. 

I was almost ashamed at how my first thought was relief, that he had maybe seen the messenger coming and, knowing the news they would inevitably bring, had decided to run away. 

" _How dare you_?" Al'iya squawked, stepping toward me as I shook my head at Sage, at a loss as to what to do. 

Did I even want to go after Llyric, or did I want him and Sage to disappear and never come back? 

" _You don't understand_ ," I answered, glaring the woman down as she stood before me, her hands on her hips. 

" _One of your mate's has evil as a father. I get it. This, how you're behaving, is the only evil I see around here, Chief_." 

She said my title in a mocking way before spitting at my feet. 

" _How did you...?"_

_"I guessed, you idiot. The El'kahrians pierce their cocks and ears as signs of status. Only an arrogant asshole like the Monster would pierce his son that many times. That boy was supposed to be a prized pet. Instead, because of the power in his blood from his mother, he was able to keep himself from his father's evil lusts. And now you seek to punish him?_

_"Is Tristan guilty? Is Bek, or the twins, or Kye? Are they guilty of the lusts of the Monster?"_

_"Of course not_ ," I bit out.

" _Neither is that poor boy's mother. Nor is he. They, all of them, are survivors of that great evil. And I'll not see you hurt that boy for your own stupidity. He fights through enough pain every day, without your idiocy added to it_."

"She knew, didn't she?" Sage asked with awe and hesitation. As if speaking to me took effort. 

"She did," I replied, flinching as I met Sage's eyes and saw the betrayal there. "We need to go find him. You're right— he's not safe on his own."

LLYRIC— 

Time had been ticking away, and I had been grasping onto it as if I could stop it with my desperation and fear alone. I had been clawing at both Sage and Ember, as if with each climax, each kiss and gasp and shared breath, each laugh and spark of warmth, I could burn the memory of the three of us together in their minds. So when I was gone, they would remember me and mourn, but also remember my love and devotion. So they would smile when they thought of me, remembered me and our time together, brief as it was, rather than only feel hatred and anger. 

And it was for love I now lay with my life bleeding out. Because the lost love I knew I would feel from them would surely kill me as easily as the blade I'd kept hidden here under this willow since the first morning I woke in their arms, in Ember's bed, and came out here to sing. I had chosen this spot then, and each time I had passed it, or we had sat near it to watch the sunset or sunrise, I had glanced back at this boulder by the water and prayed I could have just one more day. 

Just one more. 

One more. 

One more. 

But the gods only listened so long, and now my time was up. They would know, they would hate me, they would deny me, and I would slowly wither. So this was a much more fitting end. To leave the world— take my life very literally into my own hands— on my own terms. As my mother had. 

_I'm coming, Mama_ , I thought. I wished I could sing it, but the song I sang now, finally forming words to go with the tune, with the melodies, wasn't only about her. It was about the reason for my death. The reason I had taken myself out of the equation of our love. 

It was about my mama, but also about Father. It was about my blood, and my life. My sorrows and my pains and my regrets. My love and my wish for just a bit more time. Always greedy for more.

It wasn't long before they found me. I was afraid it was not long enough, but I thought I had done a thorough job— was sure I had cut deep enough, had lost enough of my dirty blood that nothing they did could save me. It was a strange kind of euphoric feeling, watching my life leave me in a red gush onto the stones beneath me. 

Sage's bellow nearly made me smile, and I wanted to reassure him that it didn't hurt anymore. That I was happy I wouldn't have to feel this pain anymore. The agony I endured when I thought of how much they would hate me for who I had been born. 

That I loved him, and I loved Ember, and if there was an afterlife, I would love and cherish them from afar. 

SAGE—

His song was more hesitant than normal. Soft, halting, mournful, haunting. And for the first time, there were words in the somber melody. Words that had me eating up the ground beneath my feet as fast as I possibly could. 

" _For the innocence of my mother, I suffered alone in the dark_ ," he sang. His spoken voice was as heavenly and bewitching as I had known it would be. It was husky and scratchy with disuse, but pure and sweet. His singing the most heart wrenching sound I'd ever heard. " _For the sins of my father, I give my blood_."

As my mind processed the words he sang, my heart dropped in my chest and I broke into a sprint, Ember close on my heels. We had both come here after checking only a few other places, and neither of us had said a word to each other.

After everything that had happened, Ember's romantic gestures, our lovemaking, opening myself up to him, letting him inside my body and my heart, I had never felt so betrayed. He wanted to not only punish Llyric, but _kill him_ for the crimes of his father. 

_Over my dead_ fucking _body_.

I had been betrayed by lovers before, had walked in on men I thought I loved fucking other men or women. Found out they'd been married, when they'd told me they weren't. One of the men who had sided with Aron when I had been demoted and imprisoned had been my lover of nearly a year. 

Never had it felt as if the ground had been yanked out from beneath my feet. As if my entire body had whittled down to only a block of ice and a heart that barely beat. 

I felt a flash of relief that was very quickly doused by horror and dread as I caught sight of Llyric. He leaned back against a large boulder underneath a willow that hung into the lake beside him. I felt relief that we had found him.

Until my eyes lit on the pools of blood pouring from his slit wrists. The knife lay at his side; his body was limp as he stared at the slowly descending sun across the lake. He seemed almost... happy. Peaceful. Relieved. 

_Fuck that_. 

The noise I made was inhuman, and he was soon in my arms. His song cut off abruptly and he looked up at me, his eyes bleary, a soft smile on his lips. 

"Sage," he whispered, his voice hoarse, saying my name for the first time. I sobbed as his eyes flickered from me to land on Ember behind me. "Ember."

Then he was limp in my arms, and my screaming drowned out Ember's hurried footsteps towards us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****I'm starting an "Ember needs to get his head out of his ass" group if anyone wants to join. lol 
> 
> Seriously, though, it's kind of a common thing in Akar, to be harsh on things like this. They may be open about sexuality, but they're puritanical when it comes to some other things. You'll see a little more if you stick around when I start uploading Jacob and Srin'yete's story.*****


	30. Let Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Hiya! Thanks for sticking around! Just FYI—there are 33 chapters, plus 2 epilogues (lol it will make sense when you get there), so 6 chapters after this. I'll probably upload the epilogues on the same day. So we're winding down a little bit! I hope you guys have liked it, and thank you for all the comments and encouragement. I've had to stop replying to every single one, but I still read them, I promise! So keep talking to me, I love it :) *****

EMBER—

It was nearly a full day before Al'iya let me and Sage into the room off of her workroom she used for patients. Sage refused to look at me, and anytime I tried to pull him away from the doorway of Al'iya's workshop, to sleep or get something to eat, I was met with a glare and a nearly visceral anger.

He wanted to hurt me, and was held back by sheer willpower. 

I couldn't blame him. 

We slept across the hall from each other, because when I tried to pull him into my arms he nearly punched me to get me to back away. But I refused to leave him, and he refused to leave Llyric, so I was stuck sleeping on the floor of the kitchen. 

When Al'iya finally told us we could go in to see Llyric, although he hadn't yet woken, I could tell Sage wanted to argue and keep me out, but he was probably too tired and broken to argue. So he simply moved into the room with me fast on his heels. 

Sage walked to the little cot where Llyric lay, pale as death, bandages up both forearms, his eyelids and under his eyes so dark purple they were nearly black. The moment Sage gently lifted Llyric's hand into his own, Llyric's body twitched and his eyes opened. 

He glanced around the room, confused, dazed, bleary from whatever Al'iya had pumped into him. Then his eyes fell on me in the doorway, moved to Sage at his side, and his face dropped into a crumpled mask as he fell into sobs. 

" _No_!" he wailed, jerking his head back. He would have yanked his hand from Sage's, but he was far too weak. As his cries rose in volume, his legs jerking as he slammed his head back into the pillow behind him, over and over again, Sage stood and cried silently above him, his big hand over his mouth to quiet his own sobs. He kept the other clutched around Llyric's twitching hand, holding it gently but firmly, so the younger man didn't flay it from his grip. I stood dazed, completely unsure what to do. 

"No!" Llyric moaned, just as Al'iya pushed past me and quickly, efficiently stuck a small, coated needle into Llyric's thigh. His sobs immediately began to hiccup, and when he spoke, his words were slurred. 

" _Why_? Why couldn't... you... let me... _go_?"

The first time he really spoke more than a word at a time should have been a joyful moment, but his words asking us why we hadn't let him die tore my heart to shreds. 

Gods, how had I possibly thought those horrible things about this man? This precious man who had nearly ended his life in fear of his past. For fear we would do exactly what I had done? Because he had been afraid that the men he'd so sweetly submitted his body and heart to would reject and revile him for something he had no control over. Something he had suffered horribly every day his entire life for. 

I felt sick, staring at him as his body began to still under the effects of the drug. When his hand fell limp and his eyes glazed over, still awake but catatonic, Sage turned to me with fire in his eyes. He charged, grabbing my tunic and slamming me back against the wall. My head smacked against the wood and I grunted at the pain. 

It was nothing to the anguish in my chest and belly. 

"Are you happy now?" Sage bellowed right up against my face, his skin red with rage. His eyes were still filled with tears, his cheeks wet with what he had let fall. 

"Of course I'm not happy!" I shouted, shoving him back. He stumbled but didn't attack me again. "One of my mates is fucking broken, and the other hates me! What makes you think that would make me happy!?" 

As if he had nothing else to hold onto, Sage's face fell and he tipped forward, falling into my arms and sobbing into my shoulder. I kissed his neck, my hands running up and down his back to try to soothe his sobs. I glanced back at Llyric, who was watching us with a dazed, confused look and tears leaking from his eyes back into his hair.

"I'm sorry," I said softly as I met Llyric's eyes, hoping he understood I spoke to both of them. "I never should have said those things. Llyric is innocent in all this— as much as those children. As much as his mother. I judged too quickly and let my gut reaction control me. I only pray it's not too late."

"Not... too late, Ember," Llyric whispered, his voice hoarse with disuse and slurred with the herbs Al'iya had given him to calm him down. Sage stiffened and pulled away from me, turning back to Llyric. Al'iya moved silently around me, making her way back out of the room and leaving us to our privacy. 

Sage stepped hesitantly to the bed, his tears still falling as he knelt by the side of the cot and took Llyric's hand into his once again. I saw the younger man squeeze Sage's fingers, though it was barely a twitch of movement. 

I moved to his other side and took his other hand, and Llyric's drugged eyes met mine. I could see his shame and the apology in his eyes, but I shushed him and shook my head. 

"You're mine," I said fiercely. "You're my mate. You never were his in any way. You're mine, and you're Sage's, and you are your mother's son. But you are. Not. _His_. Do you understand me?"

Llyric sobbed and nodded in the tiniest movement before his eyes fluttered. I kissed his forehead and whispered against his skin. "Don't you ever try to leave me again, little mate."

Llyric shrugged, and I pulled back as Sage moved in to gently kiss his lips. 

"I don't know... how to live," he mumbled, his words bleary and slurred and mumbled so badly I could barely understand him. "I know only... how to suffer, and survive, and... hope for a future... where I'll be left alone... to die. I just wanted to... die like my mama."

"You know how to live, my sweet mate," I replied. "You've been doing it for weeks. You love, and you laugh, and you hold your mates close. That's all you need to do."

SAGE—

Though I was still angry— _furious_ — at him, I let Ember pull me from the room when Llyric passed out again. I wanted to stay, but I knew I needed food and rest so I could be strong for him. 

Without a word, Ember led me back to his room, undressed me, then himself, and pushed me back into the bed. He pulled the blankets over us, wrapped his arms around me, his legs entangling with mine, and I lay my head against his chest. I relaxed into the steady rise and fall of his broad chest, and the way his heart beat firmly against my ear. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered against the top of my head. 

I prayed I could find it in me to forgive him, because in that moment, I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to forgive the moment I'd realized I couldn't count on him to stand beside me. I didn't know if I could forgive the thoughts I'd had— the ones outlining an escape for me and Llyric, running from the man I'd trusted my heart to.

I didn't know if I had it in me to forgive and forget that he had so utterly snapped my trust in him into so many pieces, I'd never be able to put them all back together again. 

For the next two weeks, Ember and I tiptoed around each other, sleeping with our arms and bodies entangled, but otherwise acting like polite strangers. We were together and strong for Llyric, who healed far too slowly. His will, Al'iya told us, as well as his lack of proper nutrition, were factors in his slow progress. 

I realized then that he hadn't eaten for this very reason. His lack of appetite, his clinginess, his desperation— all of it— was in preparation for him ending his life. Gods above, how long had he planned to leave me? 

Ember wanted to take him back to his room the next day after Llyric woke, but Al'iya refused to let him leave her sight. Her suite was connected to the workroom, and thus to the patient room Llyric slept in, and she checked on him multiple times a night. 

I spent my days in a little chair by his side, holding his hand as he rested, helping him eat what Al'iya brought to us. I told him stories of the gods, myths and legends of great El'kahrian heroes. I even told him the story of Queen Hestiel, who had taken justice into her own hands and committed patricide for the sake of her family and her people. I read him stories from books I found in El'kahrian in Ember's study, although there were only a few. 

The next time I went to get more, the books had doubled. And the time after that, there were more again. I wasn't sure where he was getting them, but I was glad Ember had provided for Llyric in such a simple, sweet way. 

Ember spent as much time as he could with us, and even read us a few Akaran myths and stories, translating as he read, but his duties pulled him away more often than not. I was grateful for him trying to be there for Llyric, but there was resentment there too. 

_Your broken man is more important than anything else your tribe may need_ , I wanted to tell him. But our cracked relationship was still trying to heal, and I didn't want to push him away. I wasn't sure yet if I could go back to the relationship we'd been building, the three of us, but I also knew I wanted to. Gods, I'd had a week of bliss and I wanted that back, even if it meant fighting past all of the deep, dark emotions I felt anytime I even heard mention of Ember. 

Not when I still flinched when I thought of the way he had reacted to learning of Llyric's heritage. Of the utter betrayal I didn't know if I could risk feeling again. I didn't know if I could ever trust him, if Llyric and I were so easily thrown aside, fucking _disposable_ , as he had proved when he had so readily condemned the boy to death. 

After his words when he woke, Llyric was quiet, but he began to speak a little. He would sing sometimes, lyrics from poems I read to him, or his own made up lyrics in Akari or El'kahrian. He would say please and thank you, in El'kahrian or Akari, and he answered Al'iya's questions about his health when she checked on him in short sentences and clipped words. 

Maybe it was a sign he was healing, in more than the physical. Maybe he would allow himself to stay with us, and this was his way of telling us.


	31. Never Wanted Something More

LLYRIC—

It hurt me that my actions had strained Ember and Sage's relationship so badly. Despite this, their care and attention towards me made me preen and want to demand more. 

Always more. It was never enough. Never enough kisses. Never enough love. Never enough touches. 

I needed them like I would stop breathing if they weren't there. 

Maybe that made me weak. Maybe that was wrong, to so heavily depend on others. But I figured, I deserved it. I had lived my life in darkness and pain. Maybe it was time someone else held me up a little, helped me carry the pain and darkness. And Sage and Ember seemed ready and more than willing, so I wouldn't complain. I wouldn't hold back. I would embrace them and their support, and be weak if that's what it made me. I'd be weak and happy, and that was ok with me. 

My horror when I had woken after I had blacked out and prayed to never wake again had died out as Sage— loyal, faithful Sage— had thrown Ember against the wall and fought for me. He _fought for me_. Me, the Monster's heir. A man no one should feel anything but disgust or pity for. 

And then Ember had called me his mate, and for the first time I had hope. Hope I would live. Hope I could be loved. Hope everything would work out and destiny would prevail. 

When Al'iya finally declared me healthy enough to leave the little cot I had slept in for near two weeks, I was grateful to return to Ember's rooms, his bed. I lay down that first night with a stiff Ember on one side, and a pouting, tense Sage on the other. Ignoring their protests, I sat up and pulled away from them. I stared deep into Sage's eyes, then Ember's, before grabbing them both by the hand. I forced their hands into the other's and sat back as they sheepishly looked at each other. 

For two weeks, they'd treated each other with gloves so they didn't upset me. I knew that, and I knew the reason why. Sage had refused to tell me, telling me to worry about my healing, and everything else could wait, so I had asked Tristan when he came in to assist Al'iya in checking on my wounds. 

Tristan had explained that Ember had read the letter from the queen of El'kahr, which had explained my heritage, and Ember had initially reacted badly. I couldn't blame him that. He had moved past it, and was now treating me as if I were precious and adored and loved. I wasn't surprised in the least his first thoughts were of disgust. 

But that initial reaction had angered Sage, and I understood why. My men were supposed to be partners, two thirds of a whole, but they were the strong ones, the walls of strength that held me up. Sage had relied on Ember to help me heal and cope, had relied on him for food and a place to stay, for safety and security. And Ember had torn that trust Sage had given him. 

That couldn't have been easy for my big man.  

"I don't know if I can trust you again," Sage said to Ember, his voice near a whisper as he moved to pull from Ember's hold. But Ember held him and refused to let Sage's hand from his grip. "I've been betrayed, cheated, deceived... but I've never felt that way before. I've never been betrayed that deeply before.

"That you were able to so easily throw away both of us, like yesterday's trash... How can I trust this— this relationship— build a life with you, if I'm on edge that someday you'll get angry and we'll be forced to leave our life behind on your whim?" 

Ember's eyes filled and he dug his face into the pillows beneath his head, groaning. I sat back, my body protesting my kneeling position. 

"I'm sorry, Sage. I have... I have no words." Ember shook his head and pulled up, scooting towards Sage and reaching up to cup his face. "I have no excuse, and can give nothing but my word and my heart. I love you, Sage, and I'm so sorry I made you suffer in any way. I'm so sorry I betrayed your trust, and I'm sorry I betrayed Llyric."

Ember's eyes flickered to me, but I had forgiven him the moment he apologized to Sage when I first woke. Having an adverse reaction was expected and understandable. That he had then come to accept me, despite the evil inside me?

That, I thanked the gods I had only just learned of every day for. 

"I love you, Llyric," Ember whispered, and I smiled and nodded. I held my hand to my chest, then set it on his. I repeated the gesture for Sage, and Sage sobbed and nodded fervently. 

"I love you both," Sage said through his tears. "Gods, I've barely known you both for a month and I couldn't live without you. I love you."

Ember pulled Sage over and onto him, spreading his legs to allow Sage to fit comfortably between his spread thighs. Ember tipped his hips up as he reached up to kiss Sage, and Sage pulled away to look deep into Ember's eyes. 

"Are you sure?" Sage whispered against Ember's lips. For all the times we had made love together, Ember had never been penetrated. It had never bothered me, I was more than happy and content with my mates sharing me and being the center of their attention, having their larger-than-average cocks pressed inside me so tight and overwhelming, but I knew Sage had desired that bit of Ember the man hadn't relinquished before now. 

"I've never wanted anything as much as I want you inside me, Sage."

Sage dove in, his lips devouring Ember as he gripped the younger man's thighs and yanked back so they were cock to cock. Their thick, hard pricks shoved against each other and Ember groaned as he gave up control of the kiss to Sage. 

I moved up to lay by Ember's side, content to watch my men. My cock wouldn't even grow hard due to my body's healing, along with the medicines Al'iya continually plied me with, although it twitched and plumped a bit. She had been firm with the three of us when she had agreed to let me sleep with my men. 

"No sex," she hissed in El'kahrian, and it amused me she knew those two El'kahrian words even though she seemed to not know any others. "Not yet," she continued in Akari, translated by an annoyed Ember. "Give your body longer to heal, at least a few more days. Rest and eat and relax."

When Sage pulled away from Ember to reach over for the bed oils on the side table, Ember looked over at me and frowned. 

"Sage, hold on. We should wait until Llyric—"

I flicked his nose and shook my head. "No. I love you both and I want... to watch."

Ember's brows rose and he smirked evilly. "Kinky."

I chuckled and kissed him gently, letting my tongue barely flicker across his lips before I sat back. " _You’re beautiful_ ," I sang, still insurmountably more comfortable with song than with my scratchy, unused words. " _Beautiful together. I get to witness something beautiful, between my loves, between my mates, between the two men who complete me and make my soul sing_."

Sage's eyes shone at my song, and Ember's smile broadened. 

"You heard the man. Fuck me, mate mine."

Sage laughed aloud but got to work, chuckling every few moments as he seemingly remembered Ember's words. 

After a few minutes leisurely kissing Ember, his hips gently rocking against the man beneath him, Sage began to suck and lick and bite his way down Ember's body. When he reached his groin, Ember took a deep breath, and I realized it was because while Sage had gently taken Ember's cock into his mouth, his fingers had moved back to press against his entrance. 

Tasting, licking, and sucking his cock, Sage quickly but efficiently opened Ember's hole until four of his fingers spread the man's ass open and he was ready. Ember panted, his fingers clutching my own as I ran the tips of the fingers of my other hand through his hair and gently kissed his trembling hand every few minutes. I tried to keep myself as uninvolved as I could— this thing between my men felt sacred and personal, between them, healing their broken bond— but I knew I couldn't pull myself wholly away. We were a threesome at our core, and though they were healing their relationship, and I could stand back and bear witness to that, I was involved in this small way by nature of our bond. 

My dick twitched a few times as Sage brought a moaning Ember near orgasm, but it never got more than a little swollen against my thigh, so I was left to watch almost clinically as Sage placed his large, stone hard cock at Ember's entrance and began to push in. I shuddered as Ember groaned, knowing exactly how he felt as Sage took his ass and made it his own. Because of how many times my lover had done the same to me. 

Fullness. Stretch. Twinges of pain. Burn. Then, bliss. Pleasure and pain mixing as Sage's cock bottomed out, his heavy balls pressing against Ember's ass, his hips rotating just a bit as he gave Ember time to adjust. Ember's chest was arched as his face scrunched up, his eyes clenched shut as he shook in my arms. Sage smiled at me as I held Ember the way Ember had held me when Sage had first penetrated me. 

When Ember opened his eyes, his chest relaxing, and nodded at Sage, the big man smiled down at his lover and began to thrust. Unlike when he fucked me, there was no working up to the hard, rough, pounding thrusts. Oh no. Sage was immediately slamming into Ember's body as Ember began to cry out beneath him. 

Ember let go of my hand to grab at Sage's hair to drag Sage down, and their lips met in a violent, passionate kiss that left me panting as I watched. 

Gods I couldn't wait to have that again. 

"You feel so good, Ember," Sage groaned, his breaths harsh against Ember's face. "You're tight and hot and _gods fuck_!" He broke off, slamming his hand up against the headboard of the bed and using it as leverage to push even harder into Ember's body. Ember twisted to push his head further against my belly, rather than having it slamming and pressing against the wood of the headboard, and I tried to hold still as their nearly violent coupling almost pushed me from the bed. 

"Sage, I love you," Ember whimpered, dragging Sage's hand that wasn't holding onto the headboard into his own, twining their fingers and hanging on desperately. "So much. I'm so sorry. I love you."

"Shh," Sage murmured, slamming his mouth back against Ember's and stealing the other man's apologies. "It's enough. You're enough. Just... just love me. Love _us_ , and it's enough."

Ember nodded nearly frantically before crying out as Sage twisted his hips in a new way, probably slamming his cock directly against Ember's prostate. 

"I'm going to come, _mast'rin_ ," Ember choked out, bringing the hand that wasn't holding onto Sage up to link his fingers with mine. One hand holding Sage, one holding me. As it should be. His grip was nearly painful, but I brought our joined hands up to my lips and held them there, kissing his fingers as Sage made his body scream.  

Sage dipped down, now clutching the headboard from the side to use as leverage in his thrusts, and as their tongues dueled, Sage's hips never wavered, not even when Ember tore his hand from Sage's to tangle in his hair, and tightened his hold that was visibly painful. Ember screamed into Sage's mouth, coming untouched against Sage's belly and chest. 

"Fuck, Sage!" Ember yelled as he jerked and moaned through his orgasm. When he could only hold onto Sage and grunt, his body sensitive and aching from his orgasm, Sage finally began to falter, his fingers digging bruisingly into Ember's thighs as he held the other man's legs tightly to his body and came inside him. He groaned against Ember's neck, biting him through the orgasm before licking at the bite mark to soothe the hurt.


	32. What is Not Understood?

SAGE—

When I pulled out of Ember, ecstatic to see my cum dripping down his ass and onto the furs beneath him, the sight the physical proof that his body was now wholly claimed as mine, we turned as one to face Llyric. The boy had been nearly silent the entire time, and I was grateful for his understanding. 

When I saw the love and empathy in his eyes, and the pleasure though his cock was limp against his thigh, I couldn't keep myself from leaning towards him and stealing a kiss. When I pulled away, my lips were replaced by a sleepy, sated Ember's. 

Ember was asleep soon after, followed by the still heavily-drugged Llyric, leaving me to watch the two men who had my heart and soul in their hands as they slept in each other's arms. 

It was another week before Al'iya would let Llyric leave Ember's rooms. By then, Llyric had gained a bit of weight, the bags under his eyes had significantly shrunken, and he had enthusiastically broken her no-sex rule multiple times. The first time he strode happily into her workroom, with me following with shame likely written all over my face, Al'iya simply stood and glared the both of us down for what felt like an eternity. There were love marks all over both of our necks, bite marks on mine from when I had at first refused his advances— Ember sported the same— and Llyric nearly whistled with happiness. 

The moment he was physically able to get hard, the medicines either no longer affecting him or possibly Al'iya had made a change to them, he was on both Ember and I even worse than he had been before. Clingy and needy, he was either on one of our cocks, both, or in between us with one of us in his mouth. We were both happily exhausted, drained, and guilty. We'd tried to hold off, tell him he wasn't supposed to do anything physical or sexual until Al'iya told us it was alright, but our man was... adamant. And far more stubborn than I'd ever given him credit for. 

"No. Sex," Al'iya grumbled, rolling her eyes when Llyric giggled. Then, in Akari, " _What is not understood in those words_?"

I blushed and kept my eyes lowered, wishing I hadn't learned so much Akari in the few weeks while Llyric healed so that I wouldn't have understood the healer's words. 

" _I'm sorry_ ," I replied in Akari, trying to appease her. " _Llyric... much..._ "

I paused, trying to remember if I knew the Akari words for _fucking persistent_ and _stubborn as hell_ , or maybe just _fucking horny and demanding_ , but Al'iya held up a hand and rolled her eyes. 

" _It's good. Means he's healing, I suppose. Don't push him, though. Gentle._ "

" _Of course_ ," I agreed, knowing my pronunciation of the words was pathetic. But she understood, for she nodded and began checking Llyric's scars. She had taken the stitches out the day before, but the wounds were still angry and raised. Every time I caught sight of them, of the proof that Llyric had tried to end his own life, it took my breath away. 

Tristan walked in then, his eyes flickering over our very obvious signs that we'd had sex the night before with only a detached amusement before turning to Al'iya.

" _I brought the kli'yurn, ma'am_ ," he said in near-perfect Akari. What was it about children that made it so easy for them to learn languages like some people learned to tie the laces on their shoes? Even Llyric was learning faster than me, though he was probably six or seven years older than Tristan. He rarely spoke, but I knew he understood far more than I did, because of the way he sometimes directed me in things others had said in Akari. 

" _Mama_ ," Al'iya grumbled. It was a daily back and forth between the healer and her adopted son. She wanted him to call her Mama, he refused. 

" _Yes, ma'am_ ," he agreed passively, making her roll her eyes as she set Llyric's arm down. 

She chattered to Llyric in Akari, and I got the gist of it— she was explaining cutting down on the potions he took for pain and to aid in his healing. And she was directing him to keep his " _physical exertions_ ," to a minimum. 

" _You won't listen if I say no sex, but just keep it gentle, yes?_ " 

Llyric chuckled and nodded and my blush returned with a vengeance. 

I was happy; happier than I could ever remember being. Ember and I had grown closer as we cared for Llyric, and Llyric was healthier than I had ever seen him. I still felt a stir of panic anytime he was out of my sight, anytime he held a knife to cut his food, anytime I saw him stare off into nothing, even if he was just relaxing as Ember read us a story. 

Despite all that, and my still-uncertain future— was my home truly here in Akar? Could I truly leave my family and everything I knew behind? Would Ember accept us into his life and home, permanently? — I was blissfully happy and sated and at peace. 

Little did I know that evil flew on swift wings, much faster than the letter and the contingent of El'kahrian soldiers sent to warn us and protect us from the evil. 

EMBER—

Since Al'iya had cleared Llyric to light physical exertion, which Sage told me during dinner while Llyric cackled with amusement, we decided to go on a picnic for lunch the next day. Llyric was looking healthier every day, slept just a bit more, had just a few less nightmares, and had begun to glow with happiness just that little bit more each day. 

I knew it was time to talk to my mates about the future. I wanted them to stay with me, of course I did, but how could I ask Sage to completely uproot his life, leave his family behind, for me? I had avoided the discussion, because I was terrified he wouldn't choose me, choose us. But it was time. 

It was past time. 

My people asked every day when our mating day was, and each time they asked I was speechless. I had no answer, for I was afraid to ask the question. 

But now I had almost lost one mate, and the other was only just coming to trust me again. I couldn't wait any longer. 

Kan made the lunch as I had requested, and gave it to me with a wink and a smirk. I flinched, hoping Sage and Llyric hadn't seen the gesture. 

We walked only a short way— to the other side of the lake. Sage and I avoided the boulder stained with Llyric's blood like the plague— though it had been cleaned by Count and Fern the very day we found Llyric, it was still stained and dirty with his blood in my mind— but Llyric didn't even seem to notice. The freckles across his nose and cheeks looked somehow darker now that his skin wasn't so pasty and gray, and I had to fight not to stop in my tracks and lick my way across the little dots.

We ate in silence, Sage commenting on Kan's cooking, but then we were quiet. Llyric watched the sky, a tiny smile on his lips, but Sage watched me. He seemed to sense something was different, but he wasn't sure what it was. Llyric knew. I knew he knew. But he kept quiet and didn't let on that he did, and for that I was grateful. 

"Sage, Llyric, I need to ask you... to talk about something," I began. Gods, I had never been so nervous. 

Had I ever been nervous at all, about anything? I couldn't remember. It was definitely an unfamiliar emotion. But now, I felt sweat trickle down my spine as I met Sage's surprised eyes and swallowed heavily. 

"Mate me. I mean..." I paused, shaking my head as Llyric began to chuckle. I rolled my eyes at him, and he held his hand over his mouth, his eyes dancing. "Become my mates. Marry me, is, I guess, how I say it in El'kahrian. Stay here. With me. I know it's a lot to ask. I know it is, Sage, but I want you. I fucking need you. And I want you both to be mine. Share my home— make it yours. Love me for the rest of your lives and let me cherish you for the rest of mine."

I stopped, out of words and breathless, as Llyric's chuckles died and he leapt into my arms. 

"Love you," he whispered against my chest. I rubbed his back and looked up at Sage, who stared at me as if I had grown a second head. I feared he hated my question, was angry I would ask him such a thing, would ask him to sacrifice his entire life and all he knew for me, but his words had me laughing and holding Llyric just that bit tighter. 

"What the fuck took you so long?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****This seems like a good place to end things, right? Except I'm unrepentantly evil, so nope. See you on Friday, loves!*****


	33. All is Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****I don't think this needs a trigger warning, but yucky gore ahead, sort of... not sort of. Definitely yucky gore ahead.*****

LLYRIC—

All was right in my world. My mates loved each other, we would be married— mated— soon, and my memories of my life before were beginning to fade. They would never be gone— no, not completely— but they were dimming and being replaced with new memories. Memories of love and passion and laughter. Of stories told while I lay healing, of learning the language of music as I never had been able to before. 

Of trying out my voice just every once in a while. Only when I was calm and knew I wouldn't let my power slip. Only when I knew my words wouldn't affect anyone around me. Only then did I allow myself to talk. But it was enough. My men loved my voice— they told me quite frequently— and I enjoyed sharing my love for them with my song and my words. 

The moment I pulled away from Ember so Sage could kiss our stubborn, sometimes clueless mate, my eye was caught by a flicker of movement. 

And my heart dropped out of my chest, my body completely stiffening to a near-painful degree. 

It took a moment for Sage and Ember to notice my distress, but when they did, they turned as one to face the man who had, until then, been hiding within the branches of the willow tree I had almost lost my life beneath. 

Gods, how very fitting. 

Father's eyes shone with a madness I had only ever seen when he was deep into a punishment. When he lost total control and nearly killed me with whatever weapon he was using at the time— whip or blade or brand or worse. 

"Mine!" he shrieked, his voice high-pitched and horrifying. Ember scoffed and began to stand, his hands shaking with anger, but steadying when he pulled out his sword from its scabbard. Sage moved to follow suit, but both men froze with dagger tips digging threateningly into their necks, keeping them from finishing their protective moves. 

My body still frozen in dread and disbelief, I watched in absolute terror as my men were easily disarmed and pushed to their knees by my side, outnumbered and taken by surprise. 

Then Father was there before me, his hand reaching out to stroke my face, but pulling back at the last minute so as not to feel the pain he inevitably endured when he touched me. 

"Don't you _fucking_ touch him," Sage growled, fighting against the hands that now moved to tie his arms behind his back. 

How had they snuck up on us like this? Was I so distracted by Ember's impending proposal that I had completely blocked out everything around me? How had I not sensed Father, when his evil, lust, and insanity were so very familiar to me?

But the _pain_. That was new. Dear gods, Father had such pain. Physical, aching, throbbing, stealing his life even as he refused to treat the injuries. His prick was gone— I could feel the lack, and the way the wound hadn't been treated at all except to stem the flow of blood and keep him alive. It was festering, his groin and belly a mass of infection and agony, and the pain from that and various other bits of his body torn open or ripped off made me lightheaded. 

There was something in his ass too— something so painful I wanted to cry out as it washed over me. Something... lodged inside of him? Oh gods, it felt as if he had a... a knife shoved up inside of him, and it was stuck. But that was... that wasn't possible. 

How was he even walking, standing... alive...? 

"Hold still, _Captain_ ," a voice said mockingly from behind Sage, and the rage on Sage's face heightened to a frightening degree. 

"Aron, you mother _fucking_ —"

"— _Silence_!" Father screeched, lashing out so quickly I barely saw the blow until Sage was on his side in the grass, his nose bleeding profusely. "He's mine! Mine! You get no say in what I do, in what I do to my son. Not you, not that filthy bitch pretend-queen who thinks she's so much better than me. He's mine! Mine to fuck, mine to own, mine to _defile_ and rape and hate and _kill_!"

Ember growled in defiance at the words and jumped to his feet, startling the man who held the dagger to his neck into stepping back and away from the sudden movement. Ember killed him with his bare hands, and two of the men at his back before the others had a chance to react. 

"Run, Llyric!" he bellowed before turning to untie Sage, and they turned to Father as one, my foreboding, powerful men. Powerful, and now helpless because of my weakness. 

I whimpered as they met my eyes, because Father's dagger now slid along my clavicle, drawing a drop of blood as he panted and heaved above me. He held me to him, so the power I had over him from that time I used my voice on him as a child was causing him immense pain. But he fought through it and screamed for Sage and Ember to drop their weapons. 

"He's mine! I want him alive, but I'll slit his throat rather than give him to another. He's mine! Do you understand? You've dirtied him, you've fucked him and ruined him, taken what was only _mine to take_!" His words cracked with the force of his screams, but he didn't stop, and he continued to rant. 

"You thought you could take my _own son from me_? He is _mine_!"

Ember began to step to the side, to force Father's attention to shift between him and Sage, but Father's grip tightened and I cried out as the tip of the dagger dug deeper into my collarbone, a few more drops of blood trickling down my chest. 

"Stop moving, barbarian trash!" 

I shook in his arms, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a ball, close my eyes, and wish everything away. Instead, I had to watch as both Sage and Ember were again shoved to their knees and had their hands tied behind their backs. 

"Kill them," Father ordered once both men were securely tied. The man I recognized as one of the men from Sage's camp when they had rescued me smiled, the motion pure, unadulterated evil that seemed to seep into me and fill my very veins with a deep, dark cold. 

"Close your eyes, _da'rin_ ," Ember said gently, his eyes never leaving mine as Father finally gave in to the pain and let me go. I dropped to my knees, both of my hands over my mouth to stop the terrified screaming that wanted so desperately to escape. Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision. 

"I love you, sweet boy," Sage put in, his own eyes filling with tears as he met my eyes. "Do what Ember says. Close your eyes. Remember our love for you, and be strong for us, ok?"

I shook my head, keening in agony as the man behind Sage grabbed him by the hair. I saw a flash of steel, heard a grunt from Sage and a growl of rage from Ember, and then I was screaming, pouring every bit of terror and anguish into the sound. 

And everyone but my mates was screaming with me. 

EMBER—

We had truly failed him, I thought. Sage and I were supposed to be Llyric's guardians. His protectors. He was supposed to be safe with us. And we had utterly failed him. So caught up in my nerves about asking my mates to stay with me permanently, I hadn't even glanced around the lake, nor looked anywhere but at them as we walked. And my nervous energy and excitement must have rubbed off on Sage, who had been confused as to why I was acting the way I was. 

It was my fault that Sage would have his throat slit in front of poor Llyric, mine soon to follow. Because he should have been safe with the two of us, but we had utterly failed him. 

Sage's grunt as the man behind him yanked his head back was very quickly drowned out by Llyric's screams. The agonizing sound had every single man, including his father behind him, dropping to their knees and clutching at their heads. 

Llyric's body tensed and he looked up in surprise, but with the move his screams stopped. 

"His mouth!" the Monster hissed, lunging forward. "Muzzle him! Now!"

The dozen or so remaining men behind us leapt forward all at once, but Llyric screamed again, this time the sound less fear, more rage, desperation, rebellious defiance, and they all cried out in pain. 

His father fought past the pain, visibly trembling, and grabbed Llyric's hand, but the boy yanked his arm back. He fell back before lifting himself up to his feet, towering above the Monster, and bellowed right in his father's face. 

"No! Don't touch me! Never, ever touch _anyone ever again_!"

The Monster cried out as he slammed back against the earth behind him. Sage and I watched in fascinated horror as Llyric stepped forward slowly, looming menacingly over his father. The men around us shuffled uncomfortably, their pain gone, but the fear of whatever Llyric had made them feel still fresh in their minds. Fresh enough to keep them back as we all watched Llyric destroy his father. 

"Do you feel that?" Llyric whisper-shouted, his voice never more firm than it was in that moment. As he stepped towards his father, the man crawled backwards like a pathetic, disgusting spider, in absolute terror. "Do you feel the pain of your victims? Of the children who survived your abuse? I felt them— _all of them_!" he screamed, his voice cracking with tears. "I felt their shame, and their anguish, all those years! I felt it through the very stone of my prison— the betrayal and horror of having an adult, a man who should have been _protecting them_ , using them for his own pleasure! _Feel it_ , you monster! Reap what you sowed! Feel this, this pain I sung from the survivors my mates rescued from your prison! It took me days to take all this into myself, and now it's _yours_."

The man began screeching in agony, his body jerking as if he were having a fit. A few of the men, most of them it sounded like, ran from the sight in front of them. From the sight of Llyric so easily tearing the Monster apart. 

My heart leapt into my throat as the Monster shakily clutched a dagger in his fist. But rather than turning it on Llyric, he flipped it and jammed it up into his own stomach. 

Then again. 

And again. 

And again. 

Over and over, the Monster stabbed himself, until he toppled over and lay still in a pool of his own blood. 

It wasn't until then that the remaining men who had accompanied Butcger escaped, a few crying out in terror. 

Llyric turned and met my eyes, then Sage's, as if afraid we would reject him after the display of the true power of his voice. But I only smiled and jerked my arms to gesture to the bindings holding me back from going to Llyric and pulling him from the Monster's body. 

"Sage did promise me the Monster would suffer," I said when Llyric crawled over to me. Llyric managed a weak, tearful smile, and Sage snorted, but then flinched. His nose was likely broken, and I couldn't imagine how much the motion had hurt. "Thank you for saving us, da'rin."

Llyric untied me, then Sage, and then he was between us both, held safe and loved in our arms. Our beautiful, strong man had faced down his worst nightmare, and his body trembled and shook as his body came down from the rush of ending the Monster's life. Of killing his torturerer with his voice and magic and nothing else. 

"Thank you for giving me the strength to fight for you," he replied directly into the skin of my neck.


	34. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***** #IstandwithQueenHestiel*****

SAGE—

When Queen Hestiel rode into Starwind Tribe the next day, it was to the charred remains of the dozen men Ember and his men had tracked down and killed, with Butcger underneath them all. We had burned them all in a haphazard pile, uncaring of identifying their bodies, of honoring their lives. They had lived as cowards, died as cowards, so they had been interred as cowards. Nameless and without even a grave for their memory. 

I stayed behind with Llyric while Ember hunted the men down, frequently having to reassure Llyric that we loved him not even in spite of his power. 

"Sweet boy, we knew what your voice could do. We guessed after you shared the memory of your father trying to rape you. Your voice not only stopped him, it made it so that each time he tried to touch you, he felt your fear, and the anguish of every child he victimized. So strongly it made it a physical pain he couldn't bear to feel. We knew then, sweetheart, and we didn't care. We _don't_ care. We love you."

Ember and I were by Llyric's side when Queen Hestiel told him about his father's keep, and what was left of his inheritance. He began to shake, but our hands on his arms calmed him somewhat. He glanced up at me, and I nodded in reassurance. 

"We're behind you, sweet boy. Whatever you decide." 

"I have a home now, your majesty," he said, meeting the queen's eyes with a steady, if nervous, gaze. "I need no other."

The queen raised her brows at both Ember and I comforting the boy, before turning to me with a questioning gaze. 

"He wants nothing of Lord Butcger's, your majesty. Do with it what you see fit." 

LLYRIC—

Meeting Queen Hestiel was exhausting. The woman was beautiful— probably my age, with long black hair tied up in ribbons of curls, taller than me by at least a few inches. She was a... presence, to say the least. Commanding, regal, terrifying. Her icy blue eyes assessed me for so long I feared I would begin to babble in fear. 

She rode into the courtyard of our home with a contingent of 20 men at her horse's heels the day after my power killed Father. The charred remains of the men were only just dying down just outside the line of the home, and the smell lingered. It had kept me awake all night, held tightly in both Ember and Sage's arms. 

Queen Hestiel took one look around, jumped from her horse, and landed in front of Ember with a glare. She wore men's riding trousers, black riding boots dirtied with mud and grit, and a thin brown cotton shirt. The only feminine thing about her clothing was the embroidered tunic wrapped around her shirt, emerald green and clashing harshly with her eyes, and the cloak tied with a broach at her neck. The cloak was warm wool and worn, but it was sewn with beautiful pictures of horses and stars. The sewing was done with care, with a loving hand. And from the way she wore it, the way it was used and faded but still worn by a queen, it was obvious it was made by someone to whom she returned the love and devotion. 

"This the boy?" she asked, her voice deeper than her soft-looking face had warned me it would be. 

"Queen Hestiel," Sage said, coming up behind me to grab my hand and bowing to the woman. I looked up at him, terrified. Would she make him leave? Could she do that? Would she demand __I return? Sage had told me about the letter from her, and I was technically El'kahrian. I was her subject too. How far did her power reach?

"Welcome to Starwind Tribe," Sage finished when he pulled himself up from his bow. 

Queen Hestiel took another look around, her sharp eyes noticing the bonfire of men's bodies, and her pristine brows rose. 

"Thank you, Captain. I had come expecting to gut a creep who managed to slip past my defenses, but it seems you beat me to it. He's in that fire, I assume?"

"Yes, your majesty," Sage said, nodding and smiling. "You and Llyric now have something in common."

He said the words quietly, heard only by me, Ember, and the queen, and by the look in her eyes, she understood immediately. Her eyes lit on me again, with a new light of something... surprise? Understanding? Empathy? I wasn't sure. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Llyric," the queen said, and I hiccuped in surprise. Gods no, I didn't want that. I wanted nothing to do with Father, most especially his title. It would never be mine, if I had to fight tooth and nail to rid myself of it. "El'kahr owes you a debt of gratitude for ridding her of a great evil that has plagued her lands for far too long. He was just in the middle of his punishment, too. It's too bad he went so easily into the afterlife."

"He suffered immensely," I said, the words falling like vomit from my lips. "I made him feel it. Feel everything. The pain drove him mad, and he stabbed himself."

"Repeatedly," Ember said with a smug tone in his voice. 

The queen's eyes on me lightened with understanding, and somehow I felt like she... knew, maybe? Knew about my power. Understood it. Gods, who was this woman, to simply accept words like what I had spoken, and not be confused by their meaning?

"I hope someday I learn a little more about what that means," she said, her smile cold and calculating. "But until then, you have an inheritance, to do with what you will. Lord Butcger's castle is now yours, as well as a considerable sum, and the rents and taxes from the local farms and land. I have a trusted councillor caring for the estate for now, but I'll need you back as soon as you feel ready to take over the care of your lands."

The shaking in my body came from deep in my soul as I shook my head and backed away. But Sage refused to let my hand go, and then Ember's arms were around me, his lips pressed against the top of my head. My eyes flickered up to Sage and he smiled and nodded.

"We're behind you, sweet boy. Whatever you decide," he whispered, and my back straightened. I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of my men surrounding me, before turning back to face the queen. 

"I have a home now, your majesty," I whispered, looking into those cold, seemingly unfeeling eyes. Those eyes that saw so much, understood so much, but gave back very little. "I need no other."

Queen Hestiel's eyes went from me to Ember, then Sage, and back again before turning back to Sage with one black brow raised. 

"He wants nothing of Lord Butcger's, your majesty. Do with it what you see fit." 

"And you, Captain?" she asked, her eyes moving over the three of us again, then back to glaring hard into Sage's eyes. "I assume this means you're no longer a subject of mine? You've finally found yourself not one but two men."

Sage chuckled, looking over at Ember before nodding and bowing slightly to the queen. "Yes, ma'am," he said with a smirk. "I guess I'm Akaran now."

Ember's laugh echoed around the front hall as Queen Hestiel rolled her eyes. 

"If Akar doesn't stop stealing my men, we're going to have words," she grumbled as she turned on her heel and moved back to her horse, jumping up and swinging a powerful leg over the horse's rump. "I expect a banquet befitting a queen when I come back in three days' time. I'm going to see what Amer's gotten up to since I last saw him. Rumor has it, he's got brats now."

She looked down and smirked, then winked at me. "The way Mem's been acting, my brother may be the only one to have children. Can you imagine, the future heir to El'kahr's throne, raised Akaran? Gods, I want to do it just for the joy of watching my councilors' heads explode."

Sage laughed heartily, but Ember and I could only stare as the most confusing, terrifying, intriguing woman I'd ever met kicked her horse into motion and galloped out of the courtyard, the soldiers she'd brought with her following closely behind. 

"Is she always like that?" Ember muttered, and Sage laughed again, kissing our Akaran mate's cheek with a smile. 

"Terrifying, isn't she?" he answered, then pulled me up into his arms and began to walk back through the front doors, leading the way back to Ember's... our bed. "You coming, big guy?"

Ember's laugh dragged behind us as Sage's mouth devoured mine and I fell limp in his arms, cuddling up against his chest as his powerful body took me through the halls before dumping me gently onto our bed of furs.

This was home, not some cold castle I prayed to never see again. This, my mates, my loves, my soulmates. This was safety and joy and pure bliss. 

This was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Not quite the end! 2 epilogues to go, ya'll! What do you think? Have you enjoyed the ride?? Gimme some feedback, good or bad. I always wanna improve ☺️☺️ But like, try to be nice. I'm sensitive lol T-T*****


	35. Epilogue: The Years Since

EMBER—

In the years since meeting and falling in love with my mates, we had lived and loved and grown together as a unit. 

True to the legacy of his mother, and his namesake, Llyric found his calling in music, and it helped heal his mind and soul. He learned to play every Akaran instrument he could get his hands on, moved on to El'kahrian— sent by the queen when Sage requested them— and after he had mastered those, he even began to research the instruments of far-away countries. At that point, he enlisted the aid of Dokojn, my tribe's woodworker, and they made strange instruments out of wood and metal that he taught himself to play. 

It became a normal sight to find Llyric surrounded by people, usually children but not always, as he played one tune or another. He began to teach others, and that became his job in the tribe— he taught anyone who so desired to play and sing and dance. 

He still spoke rarely, and when he did the words were succinct, but both he and Sage learned Akari faster than I had thought to give them credit for. Before long, we only spoke El'kahrian rarely, and usually Sage and Llyric did only to each other— possibly to keep their own culture alive in their minds and hearts as they accepted and dove into mine. 

Sage and I were convinced Llyric only ate when he was in one of our laps only because he was spoiled, rather than any lingering trauma. He was healthy, still too skinny, but we figured that was just the way he was built. It was a shame we could never know his mother, to know how he maybe took after her. It was even more of a shame she had never been allowed to grow into full womanhood. The legacy of the Monster truly was tragedy. 

It took Sage no time to find his place in my tribe. The head farmer who tended my fields had been planning to retire and move to Moonstone to live with his son and his family, and he was more than glad to pass the work onto Sage. And Sage reveled in the hard, grueling work. My people accepted him without qualm or question, and he brought knowledge and tips and tricks that helped the crops to flourish in a way I had never seen them before. 

Sage's mother and brother visited often. It turned out his family farm was only a few hour's ride away. His brother had been overwhelmed with looking after the farm alone, but with the inheritance Hestiel had given to Sage's mother and brother from Llyric, they were able to not only live comfortably the rest of their lives, but retire completely if they wanted. 

Of course, being related to Sage, they didn't retire. Instead, they hired farmhands, Sage's brother Lestat continued to work the farm, and they lived happily on a large chunk of riches and barely spent any of it. 

By Llyric's request, the family was never told where the money came from. They thought it was compensation payment for Sage's unjust demotion. 

It was amusing when Sage's mother Anna first met both me and Llyric. Sage had sent her a letter, warning her to be on her best behavior about the three of us being mates, but she still gaped when Sage led her into the front hall and gestured to where Llyric and I waited for them. In Akar, it wasn't even unique for men to be together, nor was it something out of the ordinary for more than two to be together romantically. 

El'kahr saw things very differently. 

"Maman, Lestat, these are my mates, Llyric and Ember. Llyric, Ember, this is my Maman and my brother Lestat." 

I made a gesture to welcome them into my home and Llyric smiled gently, but the woman could barely keep her eyes on us as she kept glancing back at Sage, as if wondering when he would yell out that it was all a joke. 

Later that night, we had been sitting around the fire after dinner as Lestat and Anna updated Sage on the goings-on at the family farm, and Llyric and I cuddled near the fire. When Llyric began to yawn repeatedly, Sage excused himself and moved to us. He bent down, pressed his lips to Llyric's gently, then pulled me to my feet so we could all go to bed. 

"Good gods," Anna whispered, making the sign of the gods against her chest. I huffed a little in annoyance, but Sage only rolled his eyes and pulled us back to our rooms. 

"She'll move past it," he said quietly. 

And she did. For at some time during our mating ceremony the next day, she fell head-over-heels in love with Llyric. And the boy basked in her doting affection. 

"I think she loves him more than her own son," Sage would grumble repeatedly every time she visited, bringing gifts she had made for Llyric— scarves and blankets and shirts and cloaks. 

She never brought anything for me, but it didn't bother me the way I think Sage thought it did. She accepted us, loved two of my mates. We were lucky in those things. 

SAGE—

Years had passed since my fated meeting with the two men I hoped to spend the rest of my life with, and each day was more blissful than the last. We fought— frequently when it came to me and Ember— but we worked through our strifes and we were stronger for them. 

We rarely fought with Llyric, not because he was so very agreeable by any stretch of the imagination. The boy could test your patience, and his sly, mischievous nature had slid out of hiding more and more as time went on. But mostly we didn't argue with him because anytime we wanted to, he batted his sweet eyelashes, licked his plump lips, and both Ember and I were puddles of goo in his hands. 

It was pathetic, really. We both knew it. 

And gods, we didn't care. We were happy goo, content and sated and very sexually sore goo. So we cared not that we were both wrapped around his tiny fingers. 

And would be, until the gods called us all home. 

LLYRIC—

I lived my life in utter and complete euphoria. I sang, and I danced, and I learned the intriguing language of music. I spent my days that way, and even began to teach others, if they wanted to learn, and I spent my nights between my mates, beneath them, above them, screaming their names. 

Whatever they wanted of me, I did. They moved me, thrust inside of me, and used my body for their pleasure each night, and it was as if none of us could be satisfied. As if we would always crave each other like we craved food and water. 

We never adopted young, though we spoke of it. And that was my fault. Both Sage and Ember were impartial to the idea of having a child around, but I begged them off of the idea. We could find another in the tribe to be heir to Ember, but I very much never wanted to have the care of a child on my shoulders. For many reasons, really. 

I was selfish, and I wanted the attention and devotion of my mates. I wanted them to be mine and mine alone, and never share their time or attention on anything but me, each other, and their duties. But I also... 

I wasn't afraid I would hurt a child like my father did. Gods, no. The very thought had me wanting to find a dull butcher knife and cut off my manhood. It made me nauseous and had my skin crawling. 

No, I only feared my own mind. Having children around would remind me of those years beneath stone. Of screaming and begging for freedom, my tiny, high voice pathetic and unheard. It would remind me of all of the children I had listened to being savaged in the rooms above me, of the years I had heard and felt them, one-by-one, lose their innocence, their very faith in humanity, because of the evil man I had called Father. It would remind me of their pain, their shame, their anguish, and I couldn't put that on an innocent child.

I couldn't bear to have those thoughts in my mind any more than they already were, so I quietly asked my mates if they would be happy to remain childless. And of course, my mates scooped me up between them, Ember at my back, Sage at my front, and held me tight. 

"You are our world, _da'rin_ ," Ember whispered, right against my ear. I snuggled up against Sage's chest and let them drag me down to the furs, still between them, squished completely against their hard, hot bodies. "I can pick an heir from the children in the tribe. And Sage already said he's never cared much for children."

"Being the tribe uncles won't be so bad," Sage joked, pressing tiny kisses against my cheek and neck. "I'm happy, as long as I get to spend my days by your sides, and my nights in your arms."

"Agreed," Ember grumbled, and I finally sniffled out a smile. 

"I love you both, so much. Thank you. Thank you for saving me, and for loving me, and for accepting me, broken as I am."

Ember huffed out sharply and Sage grumbled. I chuckled as I looked up at Sage. 

"You're not broken, sweet boy," Sage replied, his lips touching my nose before moving to my mouth. "You're ours. And you're perfect."


	36. After Epilogue: Princess Mem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and for all your lovely comments! Enjoy this second epilogue :):)

FIVE YEARS LATER—

SAGE—

We were sitting in the front living area, Llyric trying out a new contraption he and Dokojn had put together. Ember and I played a game of War, the winner of our bet getting the other's ass that night, when a commotion outside drew Llyric's attention. He stiffened but didn't seem afraid of whomever was outside, so Ember and I moved to the door and opened it. 

To nearly be mauled down by a furious, soaking Geir. We were inside playing games rather than out in the field due to the heavy rainstorm, but not only had Geir braved the storm, but his little bedraggled family trudged in behind him. 

Amer held their newest young— a child of only a few months— to his chest. The babe was wrapped in so many blankets I wasn't too worried about chill, but Amer moved immediately to the roaring fire anyways. 

They had adopted their newest child— Stefani, named after Geir's uncle Stefan— from an ex-slave from We'ren. She had come to the Moonstone Tribe seeking refuge after being freed by the emperor of We'ren's laws abolishing slavery. As Geir had predicted, we had over the years had an influx of slaves returning home. Many returned to their former tribes and reacclimated with no issues. 

At least, the tribes that accepted them back. I was surprised by the nearly puritanical view the Akarans took on ex-slaves. Some refused to accept them back, seeing them as dirty and used. As weak and worthless. As if, in surviving slavery, they had broken some kind of Akaran code of bravery and pride. In submitting to slavery, they were turning their backs on their Akaran heritage.

It was amazing that such an open, accepting people had such a staunch view of submission and pride. 

Others, like Stefani's maman, hadn't been able to put their pasts behind them. 

The woman had given birth to the little girl, and all but shoved her at Amer before disappearing again. 

Amer had confided in me and my mates that the woman had confessed that the pregnancy was the result of rape. He wanted no one else to know, so the babe wouldn't have to grow up under the sins of her father. 

Llyric held the babe for hours that night, crying and rocking her, his song mourning. Only he would understand what the girl would go through when she eventually knew her parentage. Only he knew how it would feel to learn one of your parents didn't want you, and the other had pushed themselves onto an innocent woman, resulting in your birth. Only he could understand and help her carry that pain. 

" _That godsdammed, fool woman_!" 

The twins, now nearly nine, followed their Daddy Amer to the fire, flinching away from their Papa Geir. They exchanged hugs with Llyric before sitting quietly near the fire to watch their papa rant. 

" _Geir, what's going on?_ " Ember asked calmly. 

" _Mem! That's what's wrong! Amer's fool-headed, stubborn_ , idiot _sister! She's going to start a godsdamned war_!"

I took a step back, my heart racing. What could Princess Mem have possibly done to break the peace treaty between Akar and El'kahr? Queen Hestiel hadn't been merely joking when she had made her flip comment all those years ago— Amer had recently told Llyric that she was seriously considering taking one of the twins in as an heir. Of having one of them spend their summers with her, learning the ins and outs of the courts.

It was a source of contention between Geir and Amer, but last I had heard, they were still considering it. So what could possibly happen to make Geir this angry he would war against El'kahr? 

" _Geir, calm down. You're going to give yourself a heart attack_ ," Amer grumbled calmly. "Gods above, help me deal with my stubborn husband," he cursed in El'kahrian, then switched back to Akari. " _Galen sent a letter that he was mating two women in We'ren, where he has served as ambassador for Akar for the last few months. With Stefani so young, we didn't want to make her travel, or leave her behind, so Geir sent his uncle Stefan to represent the family and the tribe in We'ren. But my dear sister Mem intercepted the letter— she was visiting us at the time to welcome the new babe— and went to We'ren in Stefan's stead_."

" _And we didn't even know_!" Geir growled, glaring at his mate as if it was his fault. " _We thought she went home! But no, she went all the way to godsdammed We'ren Empire! How did we find out, you ask? She's gone and gotten herself kidnapped, that's how_."

Ember gasped and turned to Amer. 

" _Queen Hestiel is going to bring We'ren to its knees if they don't find the princess soon_."

Queen Hestiel was cold, she was brutal, and she was unmerciful. But she was also just and fair, and one of the greatest monarchs El'kahr had seen in centuries. El'kahr was flourishing under her rule as I had never seen it. 

But if there was one flaw she had, it was overprotectiveness towards her little sister Mem. Before Amer had left for Akar as their Warprize, that umbrella of overprotectiveness had included him, but she'd had to let him go. She hadn't had a choice. And he now had Geir to care for him. 

Princess Mem, now nearly 20, had not flourished under her sister's rule the way the country had. Maybe the queen was too controlling. Maybe she was stifled. 

One way or another, Mem was spoiled rotten and tested the patience of all those around her. She evaded her guards any chance she could, spent her days getting into trouble, and refused to let her sister even bring up the idea of marriage. 

I honestly wasn't surprised she had done this. 

" _Yes, she is_ ," Amer answered Ember with a sigh. " _Which is why we're here. We need you three to watch the twins and Stefani so we can go to We'ren and stop an international incident. Gods be willing, we're not too late. According to Galen, the We'ren Empire has an abundance of wild mages, so they may actually be able to track her down before we're needed_."

I hoped so, but I doubted it. I knew Mem— from before I moved to Akar, and from the years since. She tended to stop by any time she went to visit her brother. The girl shared her brother's quick mind and intelligence, but there was something else inside of her. Something grasping and clever, something almost... eerie about the way she viewed the world. 

As if she was physically soaking up everything she saw and felt. 

" _We'll care for your young, Warprize_ ," Ember said firmly, and Amer smiled warmly in gratitude. " _Bring your sister back, before Queen Hestiel destroys the We'ren Empire looking for her_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TO BE CONTINUED in: Strange Magics Book 2: Blighted Abyss


End file.
